Team Journey
by KING IN THE N0RTH
Summary: As team RNJR arrives in Mistral, Ruby begins the process of putting team RWBY back together. This once again leaves a hole in team JNPR. As they follow up a lead on Cinder they might find a new member who they share a common enemy with. (Not the greatest summary or title but couldn't come up with anything else to say.) Intended as part 1 of a 3 part story. My first RWBY fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first RWBY fic but my third over all story. Everything else I've written has been Game of Thrones so this should be a nice change of pace. Fair warning that spelling is not my strong suit so there is bound to be a lot of spelling mistakes. Also I just want to admit right off the bat that Jaune is my favorite character so this fic will focus heavily on him but I will try to ground it in realism. I had a central idea for a story but as I was writing an outline for it I realized that there needed to be a lot of setup. Also the intended title for the story would have just given away the first big twist so I just decided to go ahead and make this a separate story. It made making the title and summary easier. Also it gave me enough of an excuse to focus on a Jaune/Neo pairing. Don't know why but I really got into that pairing out of nowhere. The story is set right after the finale of Vol 4 so everything should align with cannon until vol 5 comes out.**

 **Chapter One: Ice Queen**

"What do you mean you're heading out on your own? You just got better. We need to stick together." Ruby argued.

"Look, I'm just going to talk to professor Lionheart. There no point in all of us going to see him." Qrow replied.

"What are we supposed to do while you're gone?" Nora whinned.

"Have a little fun. The four of y'all spent the last 6 months crossing Anima, y'all deserve a little bit of a break."

"A break does sound nice." Ren added.

"Then it's settled. Here, this should help with your little break." Qrow said as he handed Ruby a rather large stack of Lien.

"I supposed you're not going to tale us who he is?" Jaune asked in an annoyed tone, as he stared at the boy who had come in with Qrow.

Qrow turned his head and then looked back at Jaune. "He's just a friend." Qrow said as he stared Jaune down, as if daring him to call out his lie.

"Come on Jaune. Qrow's got this. Let's find a place to eat, preferably a place with pancakes." Nora said as she dragged Jaune by the arm.

* * *

"Argh" Nora cried. "We've been looking for a place to eat for forever."

"It's been like 10 minutes tops." Jaune replied. "And you're the one that had to have pancakes at 5 in the afternoon."

"Maybe we should go somewhere nice. It's been a while sense we've had a good meal and my uncle gave us a lot of money" Ruby offered.

"Yes, but there's no telling how long we'll be here. It would be wise to conserve our funds." Ren pointed out.

"What about that diner?" Jaune said as he pointed at the dinner across the street. "It's probably pretty cheap and they probably serve breakfast all day."

The compromise seemed to satisfy the group and they all went in to the diner. As they ate there meals, Jaune couldn't help but feel a since of joy fall over them. They were nowhere near accomplishing their goal of finding Cinder but after spending 6 months crossing over two continents he didn't see why his team couldn't enjoy themselves. Nora and Ren seemed to have finally accepted what everyone else had always assumed about their relationship. While their current interaction might have seemed the same as the hundred before it Jaune notices some subtle differences. Nora no longer saw the need to hide any physical contact with Ren like she use to. If her hands managed to stay in one place for more than five seconds, which was a rare enough occurrence, Ren's would find its way on top of it. Not wanting to be a third wheel, Jaune decided he'd turn his attention to Ruby and start a conversation with her. To his surprise, he saw a empty look on her face as she moved the food around on her plate.

"What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing's wrong." She said, as she snapped back into her normal cheerful self.

Jaune could tell it was an act, mostly because he himself was use to putting on a similar act around others. "Ruby, I can tell that something is bothering you."

Ruby hesitated for a second, contemplating whether she wanted to bring down everyone's mood. She finally decided that Jaune wouldn't just let it go if she tried to lie about it. "I'm just worried about my team."

"Yea." Jaune replied solemnly. "But Yang and Blake are pretty tough…and I'm sure Weiss' greatest danger will be boredom." Jaune said trying to lighten the mood.

"Your probably right." Ruby said, showing the thinnest of smiles. "You know she told me one time that she had a butler just for making cakes."

"Really? Just for cakes." Jaune said in a rather retrained amusement.

"You don't seem that surprised."

"I've heard of some pretty outlandish stuff. I mother once told me about a family she knew that had a whole staff of servants just for their dog."

Ruby chuckled at the thought of Zwei having his own servants to take care of anything he could want. "I bet she would have a butler for that too if she had any dogs."

"Probably." Jaune said, happy to see that Ruby's spirit seemed to be lifted. Unfortunately, the moment only lasted a second, as Ruby's smile quickly faded.

"Do you think I'll see my team again?"

"Of course." He replied confidently.

"How can you be so sure of that?" She asked, with a mix of anger and hopelessness.

There was a reasoning to Jaune certainty but he wasn't sure if it would make Ruby feel any better. "What Cinder did…with the attack on Beacon. It was just the beginning. I don't know if I believe all that stuff about relics your uncle told us about but I do know that there is a larger war coming. Weiss, Yang, and even Blake are going to be drawn to it. We all chose this life and nothing can change that now." To Jaune's surprise the words seemed to give Ruby some measure of hope.

"Your right. There is a war coming and I have faith they my team will be there to face it with me." Ruby said confidently. "Thanks you, Jaune" Ruby said as she buried her head into his chest had hugged him.

Jaune returned the hug. As he rest his head above hers he looked out in front of him. What he saw made him question both his sight and sanity. "Maybe you'll see your team sooner than you think."

Just as the words came out of his mouth a loud crash was weird throughout the diner. "Watch where you're going." A customer yelled.

The rest of team RNJR looked at what Jaune was looking at and saw a tray of food laying at a waitress's feet. Standing at the other side of the diner was none other than Ruby's partner, the former heiress of the largest Dust company in all of Remnant, Weiss Schnee.

"I've been waiting on my food for nearly an hour and you just dropped it on the floor." A customer yelled.

Weiss was prevented from defending herself as red blur dashed across the dinner an engulfed her in a massive bear hug. "R-Ruby." She managed to say as she was being crushed by her partner.

"Weiss, I'm so happy to see you." Ruby cried.

The reunion was short lived as the manger came out from the back and started yelling at Weiss and Ruby. Jaune looked around and noticed dozens of plates had been blown off of their table and laid on the floor broken because of Ruby's semblance enhanced dash towards Weiss. It took Jaune and Ren half an hour of pleading along with all the Lien Qrow had given them to prevent the manger from calling the police.

* * *

"What are you doing in Mistrial?" Ruby asked her partner.

"I was told Winter was stationed here. After I left Atlas I hoped I could meet up with her."

"Did you find her." Nora asked.

"No." Weiss replied in a defeated tone. "The Atlas military hasn't been welcome here after what happened at Beacon so she's most likely undercover. I've been looking for her but haven't found any leads. I-

"Well the manager said he wouldn't call the police but we had to give him all the money your uncle gave us." Jaune said as he and Ren walked out of the diner to meet up with the three girls. "So Weiss, why where you working as a waitress?"

"I needed the money." She replied, mildly annoyed.

"Really you?" Ruby replied skeptically.

"Yea, aren't you like a gazillionare?" Nora added.

"My father is no longer supporting me. I used all the Lien I had to get into Mistral. I didn't even have enough to rent an apartment. Do you know they make you pay money even before you move in?"

"Huhhhh….yea it's called a deposit." Jaune replied.

This only further angered the former heiress. "Well I didn't, Arc." She said with venom in her voice. "I've been at a homeless shelter for the last 2 weeks."

"Why didn't you just call up Neptune. He's from Mistral. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to have you move in with him." Nora said with a suggestive wink.

"Humph, it would be inappropriate to move in with a man without being married." She replied defiantly, but with a noticeable blush.

"Well, where staying at an inn. Your welcome to come join us." Jaune said.

"O my god it will be so much fun. It'll be like asleep over." Nora screamed as she brought her arms around Ruby and Weiss' necks and pulled them in for a suffocating hug."

When Nora finally let go of Weiss she was able to regain her composure and respond. "I would appreciate that."

 **So this was a short first chapter but I really just wanted to get the chapter out there and see if anyone was interested. Looking forward to any comments and constructive criticism.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So this one is another short chapter. I got in the habit of doing a minimum of 4k words per chapter in my last fic but that was after the first 7 chapters. So for now I'll just go with the goal of a minimum 1500. I have clear idea of what is going to happen next but this felt like a good stopping point and I really didn't want to wright another 2,000 words a 3 am.**

 **Chapter Two: Game Night**

"I play the Atlesian Air Fleet, which allows me to bypass your defenses and attack your walls directly." Weiss stated.

A smirk formed on Ruby's face. "You just activated by trap card." She said as she dramatically flipped the card on the table. "Giant Nevemore. And if you recall, this card allows me to destroy half of your fleet if I roll a six or higher."

"And if you don't it will destroy your own fleet." Weiss countered.

"I guess will see." Ruby said as she grabbed the dice on the table and rolled them. "Ha! Ten, looks like your fleet is going to be destroyed."

It was Weiss' turn to smirk. Did Ruby really think she was clever? The young girl had telegraphed the trap will in advance. "Trap card." She said as she watched the smile on Ruby's face vanish. "Scorched earth, allows me to negate the effect of your card by discarding all the cards in my hand. So it looks like my attack will go through as planed, which will be enough to take over your kingdom."

"It looks like it's just you and me Ice Queen." Nora said in a competitive tone.

"It would seem so." Weiss said as she examined the board. While Nora did control both Mistral and Vacuo after defeating Ren, which Weiss' was unsure if it had been due to Ren's noncompetitive nature or because he wanted to make Nora happy, it didn't matter. Nora's forces where far to spread out to make a difference. In another turn or two she would end this.

"I play Smugglers of Wind Path, which allows me to take two cards from my opponent's hand."

Weiss opened her mouth to point out an important detail to the energetic girl but was spared the need to by Ren.

"Nora, me and Ruby are already out and Weiss doesn't have any cards in her hand."

The hammer welding huntress seem unfazed by this news. "Well I still get a bounus because I'm playing as Vacuo."

Again, Weiss was spared the need to correct the women. "Nora I was playing as Vacuo. You're playing as Mistral."

"Arghhh! There are too many rules. I guess it's your turn."

Weiss drew another card and smiled. "I use Sandstorm which disables all your ground troops. That leaves kingdom open to attack by my army of Ursai. It looks like that's game. Fear not my defeated foes I, Weiss Schnee, shall be a benevolent dictator. AlI that I ask is-

The former heiress was cut off from her victory speech as a pillow came crashing into her face. "Looks like I'm Queen of Remnant now." Nora commanded as she took another below and smashed it across Ruby's face.

Ren, sensing the growing escalation, quietly moved to the other side of the room, and sat down on the other side of a bed.

* * *

"Again, I'm sorry. I assure you, there won't be any further noise from us." Ren said to the lady at the door.

"See that it doesn't." She said with a skeptical look before returning to the room down the hall.

Ren closed the door and turned to see the mess left from Nora's pillow fight. The beds had been pushed to each side of the room and flipped over into make shift forts to help defend against each other, feather laid all across the floor, and two lambs that had been broken into dozens of pieces. After Nora had broken the second lamb Ren had decided it was probably time to put an end to the 'pillow' fight. "I suppose we should start cleaning up."

Weiss straightened out her dress and began to help Ren clean. She couldn't help but smile. While cleaning up a mess wasn't something she would consider fun it had been over 8 months since she had done anything resembling the word, board games where not something one did at the Schnee manor. So, cleaning up after an admittedly epic pillow fight was a small price to pay. Not to mention the fact that she would get to sleep in a room surrounded by friends instead of strangers. As she began cleaning she realized that Jaune wasn't among them. When they had first started playing she just assumed he would come later. And when the game really started to get intense she become far too focused on winning to be concerned with his whereabouts. But now it seemed strange that he wasn't with his team. Certainly he would have come when he heard all the noise they were making. "How come Jaune isn't here?"

She was met with odd stares from the three other people in the room.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You've never called him by his first name before." Ruby replied.

Had she never called him by his first name. She racked her brain thinking of an instance where she hadn't referred to him as Arc. "Well he's not nearly as insufferable as he used to be. I was just wonder why he wasn't playing with us. And if I recall, last time I played this game he beat Yang, Ruby, and I. It only seemed fair that I get a rematch now that I understand this game."

"I believe he said he was going to try and get a letter sent to his family. He probably just stopped by the store on the way back. We were running low on a couple of supplies." Ren lied. He knew exactly where his friend would be. He would be out training like he did every night. He would most likely come back an hour or two after midnight drenched in sweat. He had wanted to argue with his leader when he told him he'd be going out but with the way he had acted at Kuroyuri he wasn't really in a place to criticize the way his leader handled his grief. And what harm did it really do to let him release his anger out on a couple training dummies. Jaune had never let his training interfere with his health or behavior. He would always wake up, usually before the rest of them, and seem fully rested.

Weiss accepted Ren's answered but noted that Ruby didn't seem convinced by it. Her partner seemed to be rather concerned and who could blame her. He had been her partner for the last 6 months and they must have formed a close bond over that time. Not to mention the fact that Jaune had lost his first partner already. Team RWBY had been separated but a least she knew they were all still alive. Team JNPR was missing a member and nothing was going to fix that. Weiss had already decided that she wished to talk to him. She wanted to apologize for snapping at him when she first arrived. Two weeks in a homeless shelter and another week working a minimum wage job had put her in a bad mood but that was no reason to lash out at him. On top of that she had never thanked him for convincing Neptune to dance with her, and while that hadn't really worked out in the end the gesture had been undeniably kind. Had he asked her for a dance after Neptune had rejected her she would have been too vulnerable not to accept. But instead he choose her happiness over his own. But even more important than either of those reasons she thought maybe talking to her would help him. He was in a difficult position. Ruby may have been his friend but she was still only 15. And while she was sure both Ren and Nora would be more than willing to listen to him vent she had a suspicion someone like Jaune would be too proud to appear vulnerable them. He was their leader and would probably wish to put on the appearance of confidence to keep moral up. She was someone he could confide in without having to worry about how it would make him appear. The thought had cross her mind that her presence might complicate things. While she assumed that they would just act as a five-man team now, it was possible that Jaune might feel like a fifth wheel. Even though the majority of the team where part of JNPR he was again without a partner. Ren and Nora obviously shared a close bond and Ruby and herself would again work as partners. The thought that she was inadvertently making thinks harder on him made her feel sick. Thankfully she was brought out of her thought when Ren spoke.

"Now that that has been taken care of I'm going to head to bed. I already sent a message to your uncle that Weiss would be staying in your room so he going to sleep in our room when he gets back."

"Okay, thanks Ren." Ruby replied.

He gave Nora a hug and then gave a customary farewell to ruby and Weiss before he left to go to the room across the hall. As he entered his room he saw Jaune's pack back laying on the bed. He laid down on his bed and just hoped his friend wouldn't be too hard on himself.

 **I actually put a lot of work in the dialogue at the beginning. Trying to imagine how the game works was kind of difficult. I used the scene in the show and just built off that. Doesn't really had anything to the story but it seemed a good way to start the chapter and just writing "they where playing remnant" bothered me. I kind of have a bad habit of putting a lot of thought into things that are really unimportant, and a imaginary board game in an imaginary world which in itself is based on a imaginary world in a web series is really high on that list. Regardless, once I started I couldn't have written anything after that point until it was completed. I don't know if yall feel like a pillow fight seemed a little to childish but it gave me a chance to show that Weiss really needed to unwind after being imprisoned in her own home for x amount of time. It it's defiantly in character for Nora to start a pillow fight. I hope Weiss inner monloge didn't come off like a list. I just tired to point reference the things that have changed Weiss opinion of him and point out why she might feel like her presence might make him feel even more alone. So let me no what you think in the comments.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fair warning this chapter is a little darker than the last two. I did plan for the story to have a couple of more mature elements in it but didn't think it justified a M rating. I might have to change it further down the line for for now the T rating seems fine.**

 **Chapter Three: Guilt**

Crocea Mors sliced right into the skull of an oncoming enemy. As Jaune yanked the blade out of the featureless silhouette of a man holding an axe, it dissolved into a thousand pieces of light and another hologram holding a sword came running at him from behind. He spun the hilt of his sword around, so that it was pointing down, and thrust the sword backwards. His body turned with the strike, bringing all his weight behind it. It sliced into the side of the oncoming enemy and came out the other side. A third enemy came from above and brought down a over the head strike using a mace. Jaune's shield came up above him with plenty of time to block it. His knees buckled slightly from the strike but he pushed through it and swung his shield which pushed his enemy's Mace out of the way and leaving it's center open. He ran in through with Crocea Mors. Before the enemy had even disappeared two more came from each side. One using a spear and the other a using two knives. He blocked the spear easily enough with his shield but only managed to retract his sword arm far enough to take the downward swings on his forearm. Subconsciously he must have known his aura had taken a hit but at this point he neither realized or cared. He brought his right arm up as high as possible and swung the front of his shield into his opponents face. The force was enough to knock it back but not enough to register a kill. He was unable to follow it up however as he continued to spin clockwise and blindly swung Crocea Mors at the other enemy. Its spear met the strike but the aura infused into the attack knocked the enemy over. This time he was able to follow up the attack and kicked the downed enemy in the stomach pushing it out of the ring. He turned around to put the end of the ring at his back. Finally, he was giving the chance to reposition himself and prepare for his next attack that would come. The enemy that he had previously been unable to kill had stayed back and waited for the system to project two more enemies to back it up. On the left a figure holding a Warhammer and on the right the new enemy held twin blades.

He had set the training program to an intermediate level but had been at it well past the suggested amount of time. Setting the program to an advance level would have meant the system would have shut down as soon as his aura reach the yellow. A safety precaution to prevent someone from getting hurt. This simulation would at least let you go down to 25% before they shut off and for someone like him, it could take quite a while to wear him down. Even so it still wasn't expected for someone to spent nearly two hours on it. He had told himself when he arrived that tonight was going to be a light workout. Just to go over his daily routine. He had even thought about doing laps instead of working on his swords skills, after all his stamina could still use a lot of work. However, subconsciously he probably knew from the beginning that was never going to happen. The nail in the coffin was the poster. What where the chances he'd see a poster of his former partner plastered on the gym wall? What a stupid question that was. Of course, her face would be on posters in this place. It was a gym that was specifically made for tournament training. They didn't even charge him to use the facility. Once they saw his sword they just let him in. When most of the kingdom comes to a complete standstill to watch the Mistral Regional Tournament you tend to get a lot of facilities that give potential combatants every single opportunity to improve. In hindsight, it might have been a testament to just how obsessed he had become with his training that he didn't go into the gym prepared to see a poster of his former partner with a cheesy motivational line on the bottom. "You too can be a champion." Regardless, the poster turned, what should have been a hard but fruitful workout, into a workout designed to cause as much pain as physically possible to him. A pain that, for however long it lasted, would mitigate the horrible guilt he felt. All the pain he received would be a punishment for his failures. His failure as a leader, as a partner, and as a friend. Over the last 8 months he had come to realize just how selfish he had been. He had wanted, so badly, to live up to the stories of heroism from his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather, and father. Yet in doing so he had endangered not only himself but the people around him. He laid awake most nights wondering how things could have been different had he decided to do something else with his life. His team would have had a stronger leader to follow and Pyrrha would have had a stronger partner to rely on. A partner who she didn't feel the need to launch in a locker to the other side of Vale. _I should have been there with her. If only I was stronger. If I was stronger she would have felt she could take me with here._ Jaune thought to himself.

In the week after the fall of Beacon he had been a mess. He had refused to eat or wash himself. He spoke to no one and cried himself to sleep most nights. Both sides of his family taught that suicide was act of cowardice. It was considered that you were simply giving up when you couldn't meet the challenges before you. To commit such an act would bring shame to your family. Even so, 7 days after Pyrrha's death Jaune had decided he couldn't take the guilt anymore. He left Crocea Mors and a note in his room and walked down to the docks under the cover of night. When he had arrived he simply jumped into the water and swam out as far as he could. He figured that once he swam far enough even the innate human instinct to survive couldn't save him. He would just struggle against the waves for a while and finally drown. In the end, it wasn't his family's sense of duty, the thought of what his death would do to his remaining friend and family, or even the notion that killing himself would have been the last thing Pyrrha would have ever wanted, that kept him alive. What gave him the strength to swim 5 miles back the shore was revenge. The desire to kill the women who had taken his partner from him, allowed him to push on when he was curtain he had nothing left to give.

He had made it back to his room before Ren and Nora had gone in to check on him. The note he was able to get rid of but the drenched clothing was another story. Ren had walked into his room right when he was trying to hide his soaked clothes. The young man had said nothing at first and Jaune had been grateful for that. He had merely sat next to his friend in silence. After an hour in silence Ren finally spoke. "Are you going to be okay?" The answer to that question may have seemed obvious to everyone else at the time but Jaune knew that his friend was not asking him if he was doing okay emotionally because clearly, he was not. What Ren was asking him was if he needed to worry about this happening again. Jaune gave him the first smile he had had all week. It was a weak smile to be sure, little more than a smirk, but by no means fake. "I want to live." Was all Jaune had said. He knew that at the time Ren must have been conflicted, on whether or not to believe those words. Jaune doubted that Ren truly believed him but he seemed content with him. He said one last thing before he left. "Jaune, I won't tell you that this loss means the same to Nora and I as it means you. But Nora and I have lost a lot already. I don't know if either of us would be able to handle it." Jaune had given up on wallowing in self-pity that day. He still held onto his guilt but all those feelings he kept bottled up under the surface. He had taken to wearing a mask in front of everyone. He had reverted to the lovable idiot in all but his most private moments. The act seemed to have worked, for the most part, because after that his friends stopped staring at him with worried eyes. His team had been helping miss Goodwitch with the, seemingly endless, task of trying to retaking Beacon for 2 weeks when Ruby finally got a hold of him. She hadn't even finished the question before he had agreed to it. He would have done anything that got him closer to Cinder. And now that he was on this path nothing would stop him from getting his revenge.

He was taken out of his thought by the charging enemy. He rushed out the meet them and knocked the center one over with his shield. The centered target was knocked over and finally registered as a kill. He spun counter clock-wise 180 degrees and met the enemy on his left with his shield. His shield came in with plenty of time to stop the twin blades but Crocea Mors just barely managed to redirect the Warhammer so that it swung up above his head. He kicked the foe on his right in the stomach and diverted his full attention to the enemy on his left. It swung its twin blades horizontally from each side. Instead of blocking he grabbed the wrists of the attacking enemy. He rammed his forehead into the hologram which forced it to simulate a daze. He quickly finished it off with a clean swing though its torso. He turned around with intention of fighting the enemy he had kick a second ago but was forced the bring up his shield to stop an incoming projectile from striking his head. He looked over his shield and saw a new enemy at the other side of the ring, using a rifle. He instantly realized that the new threat was the priority and rushed after it. He took another volley of shot with his shield as he carried it in front of his head while charging. He was only 10 feet from the riflemen when another enemy appeared wielding a staff with a blade at the end of it. He didn't process the new attacker fast enough and was unable to stop the strike on his undefended right side. Even worse, the attack left him open to three shots from the enemy he had just been charging at. He reacted as quickly as he could and put the staff wilder between him and the enemy using the rifle. This neutralized one problem for the moment. He blocked a downward swing from the staff user with his shield and drew his sword back to strike at the undefended stomach. He was caught completely off guard by the third opponent from earlier when it swung its Warhammer into his side, knocking him on his back.

He instantly knew that he was about to have three enemies barreling down on him at once. He saw the riflemen aiming his gun at him and did the only thing he could think of. He threw Crocea Mors at it as hard as he could. The blade stuck into the figure's head and instantly register a kill. He had little time to enjoy the lucky strike as he barely moved his head in time to avoid having it crushed by a Warhammer. He had to move his head back the other way as he avoided the other enemy's blade. He kicked the staff welder in the leg and brought it to the ground. He brought his leg down on the enemy's head twice before it finally disappeared. He was quickly reminded that he was facing two opponents when the Warhammer smashed into his stomach. Had it been Nora he knew that he would have been out of it but the foe he was facing wasn't anywhere near that strong. It raised the hammer up for another strike but this time Jaune was quick enough to stop it with his shield. Had he been rested he would have had little trouble pushing the hammer of him but after two hours of this his muscles had begun to fatigue. He shouted out in exertion as he managed to throw the strike back. He got to his feet as quickly as possible and threw himself at the enemy. It fell on its back and Jaune landed top of it. Before it had a chance to push him off Jaune raised his shield high and brought the pointed end at the bottom down on the holograms neck, causing it to disappear. He raised his head in relief only to be met by the figure of an archer at the other side of the ring. It had already notched an arrow and was about to release it. He was unable to stop himself from flinching as he prepared for a strike that he knew was going to hurt. The sound of metal sticking into the floor made him open his eyes. Sticking out of the ground where the archer once stood was Qrow's sword.

"Damn it kid, just watching you is making me tired."

Jaune turned his head to the source of the voice and saw Qrow standing in front of the control monitor, taking a rather long swig from his flask.

 **So I guess this chapter could have been quite a bit longer if I would have just left his meeting with Qrow in it but since I was already past 2,000 words and because it seemed like a good place to stop I ended it there. So I'm curious to know what yall think of Jaune's attempted suicide. I've always thought a character like him would feel a tremendous amount of guilt over Pyrrha's death. The ending to Vol 3 three didn't show that and other than that one scene in the second episode of Vol 4 we really didn't seem him have problems moving on. Now in a show that's made up of 12 15-20 min episodes per season I can accept that more important things need to be made a priority. Anyways the point of this scene was to show that he transitioning to mopey Jaune to angry Jaune. The holograms he's training with I got from the hunger games and the idea for his suicide attempt was from an episode of Nip/Tuck. I liked it because it's an act that forces the person to prove he wants to live in order to survive.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Cover Art: Digital-SilverEyes**

 **Guest: Yea sorry about the distinct lack of Neo. I just haven't had the chance to write her in the story yet and I'm still trying to figure out a couple things about her introduction. I had a little scene planned for the end of this chapter just to show what was happening with her at this time but the chapter lasted a lot longer than expected. So the next chapter will defiantly feature Neo. I want to make some stuff clear before anyone get to interested in the story. This story is attended to be an action story. There is going to be a Jaune/Neo relationship (a physical one at least) in it but that isn't what the story is going to revolve around. The focus of the story is going to be the adventures of team JRNN (Journey) as they try and accomplish their goal. I understand how someone could find that deciving with the Jaune Neo tag and the cover art.**

 **Icemaxprime: Hope this chapter answers your question.**

 **rugby1719: I took your advice and edited the last chapter. I tend to group chapter by POV so if a single character has an inner monologue or a fight scene the chapter tend to get pretty long. You where right thought they did get to long and in this chapter I tried switching between character as much as possible.**

 **Chapter Four: Therapy**

Jaune remained seated on the ground as he watched Ruby's uncle drink what must have been the equivalent of 5 shots before walking over to Jaune.

"Is there a reason to turned off the training exercise?" He struggled to ask as he got his breathing under control.

"I figured you had been on it long enough. I've only been watching you for the last 30 minutes and it was starting to make me feel tired. Any longer and you would have hurt yourself."

 _Yea, that was kind of the point._ "I was just trying to get a good workout. My stamina need work."

"Hmpf" Qrow said as he sat down next to Jaune and offered the flask to him.

"I'm 17?" Jaune replied.

"With what your team went through this last week, I think your entitled."

Jaune grabbed the flask and took a swig for no other reason but to shut him up. Jaune instantly started coughing when the liquid ran down his throat. "What is that?!"

"That right there is bottom shelf whisky."

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you like it so much."

Qrow took another swig from his flask. "It numbs the pain."

Jaune looked around the training ring. "So, I suppose you're not going to tell me where your 'friend' went."

Qrow didn't make eye contact. He just stared out in front of him while he spoke. "You're a nosy little kid, do you know that? Everyone else on your team seemed fine on accepting what I told them, taking the money I gave Ruby, and enjoying the rest of their night but you just have to find a problem with every single thing I tell you all."

"I just want to know the truth about what where involved in. I think with what happened at Beacon that isn't too much to ask for."

Qrow sighed. "No I suppose it's not. Look I didn't lie to you about the kid. He is a friend. He has a somewhat unique skill which could be useful in fighting Cinder and the people she is working with. That's why I left him at Heaven. He's supposed to help Professor Lionheart…understand the situation we're in."

 _That's his idea of an explanation?!_ Jaune was about to ask a follow up but was cut off.

"But I think the fact you're out here at midnight while your friends are playing games is a far more concerning matter. The other guy on your team…Ren was it? He messaged me earlier saying that you all met the Schnee girl in town. Shouldn't you be with the rest of your team celebrating your little reunion?"

"I doubt she cares, all that much, that I'm not there. Besides, this is far more important."

"What? Getting your ass knocked on the ground is more important than having fun with your friends."

"Getting some training in is more important than playing a damn board game." Jaune said dismissively.

"O, is that's what you were doing. See from where I was standing it seemed like you were just trying to hurt yourself."

"I-

"Don't bother lying to me. I was a teacher at Signal and I was tough on my students and even tougher on my nieces but I never would have put them through a workout like that without a break. I know when someone is training and when someone is trying punish themself. You may be able to convince the rest of your teammates that your fine but I can see through the façade. You feel guilty and you think you deserve to get your face kicked in, don't you?"

"The training still serves a purpose, regardless of my conscience." He said, trying to avoid the question.

"Does it now?" Qrow waited for a response but was met with silence. "Look I understand better than most what you're going through. I get feeling like you deserve to be punished for letting someone down." Qrow said before bring the flask to his mouth to take another drink.

"I suppose you do, don't you?"

The reply caught Qrow off guard and he nearly chocked on the whisky. That was nowhere near the reply he had expected from the kid. _Most people like this are never willing to accept that someone else can relate to their pain. It's how me and Tai where after Summer died._

"Ruby told me that you where her mother's partner."

"I'm surprised she told you that story." Qrow said solemnly.

"I supposed she thought trying empathize with me would make me want to talk about how I felt."

"Did it?"

"Not really. I didn't see what good it would do to unload my problems on Ruby. She has her own trauma to deal with after Beacon all"

"There are better ways to handle guilt than working yourself to death."

"What, like drinking it away?" Jaune replied with an edge.

"In my defense, I was a heavy drinker by the time I graduated Beacon."

"Look, you've been where I've been. Did any of the caring words or heart to hearts help you deal with your guilt?"

"No." Qrow replied as he looked down at his flask and wished there was more in it. "I got over my pain out of necessity. As much of a wreck as I was after Summer died Ruby's father was worse. He couldn't take care of himself let alone his daughters. For those first couple of years Yang and Ruby lost both their parents. I got over my guilt because I had to be there for my nieces. What little I could do I was determined to do." Qrow turned to look Jaune in the eyes. "For whatever reason my niece really cares about you. Like you said, she has her own trauma to deal with. If something happened to you…well a person can only handle so much loss before they break."

"I'm not suicidal, Qrow. I still want to live." He said it confidently but it was only half true. Jaune wanted to kill Cinder which required him to in fact keep living. After that goal was accomplished he didn't really know what he wanted.

Qrow gave him a skeptical look. "It's not just about living. You need to find a way to live with yourself and preferably in a way that doesn't put you in a hospital. I know you didn't want to talk to any of your friends about this but torturing yourself isn't going to make you feel any better."

"Nothing is going to make me feel any better." Jaune snapped. "Nothing can change the fact that I let my partner down. That I failed her at every turn. I wasn't able to protect her when Ozpin tried to give her the Fall Maiden's powers, I was too week to help her fight Cinder, and couldn't even be there as her as a friend. She asked me to help her decide what she should do." Jaune said, as his voice cracked and his eyes began to water. "She was practically begging me to tell her that she shouldn't take the Fall Maiden's powers. To tell her she didn't have to take on that burden." Jaune gave a sad empty laugh at the memory. "And I did the opposite. I told her that she couldn't let anything stop her from her destiny." Jaune began clenching his fists so tightly that his nails began to dig into his skin. "I wasn't even supposed to be at Beacon. I didn't have any formal training but I had it in my head that I had to be a Huntsmen. If I had just swallowed my pride and done something else maybe Pyrrha would have been partnered with someone stronger. Someone that could have made the difference when she fought Cinder." Jaune was quiet for the next few seconds as he tried to control his anger. "I get that you know what if feels like to lose your partner and I'm sure you probably felt like you should have been able to save her but it wasn't your selfishness that got your partnered killed."

This is more like what Qrow had expected. The constant idea that you were the only person that had let someone down. Like you where some how the worst person in the world. Ozpin had told him about Jaune's transcripts or more accurately Ozpin had told Oscar and Oscar had told him. "See that's where your wrong. It wasn't just that I wasn't strong enough to help Summer. She was hurt because she was my partner. Look I told you about my semblance. People around me tend to have bad things happen to them. My sister's semblance works the opposite way. People around her tend to find good luck. Together we seemed to cancel each other out, more or less. But when she left, instead of leaving the team, I decided to stay. I convinced myself that even with my semblance Summer and Tai would be better off with me than without me. Tai and Summer had become more of a family to me than my own sister. I was so afraid to let them go that I put them all in danger and Summer paid the price. I robbed my nieces of their mother and my best friend of his wife, all because I was too scared to be alone. So I know exactly what it feels like to have someone die because of your own selfishness."

Jaune was unable to respond to the confession. They just sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. "If you do understand how I feel then you know that I have to do something. At least when I'm in pain, for a short moment, I'm not burdened with my guilt."

It was at that point Qrow realized nothing he said would get through to the kid. "I guess there's only one thing I can do then." Qrow said as he stood up and walked over to his weapon. "If your determined to put yourself through this insane form of training I won't stop you…but I would prefer to control it. Instead of letting holograms chip away at your aura until it gets into the red how about we see how long you can keep up with me before passing out."

Jaune got up and went to fetch Crocea Mors. He returned and stood at the opposite side of the ring, facing Qrow. The two men synced up their scrolls.

 _Wow! Ruby wasn't kidding when she said this kid had large aura reserves. Two hours on a simulation like that and he's still at 50%. Anyone else at his age would be running on empty._ Qrow thought as he looked at their health bars. "Alright kid, when you're ready. I'm just going to warn you right now that I'm not gona go easy on you."

Jaune said nothing in reply. It was of course a lie. Qrow was not only a real huntsman but a particularly skilled one at that. If he actually took this fight seriously Jaune would be down in about a minute. Still it did leave the question of how much he was going to hold back. Was he just going to defend and pick away at Jaune's aura or was he going to actually try and do some damage to him. Jaune figured he make the first move and find out. He charged at Qrow with sword and shield in hand. He brought his right arm back and prepared himself to swing across his body.

A smirk formed on Qrow's face as he saw the swing coming. He easily side step the swing and swung his giant sword at Jaune's side.

Jaune tried to stop the swing midway and redirect Qrow's strike. He was only able to bring his sword far enough to catch the incoming attack. The force of Qrow's strike pushed Crocea Mors up against his own body and shot Jaune back 10 feet.

"Your gona have to do better than that kid." Qrow taunted.

 _Well I guess that answers my question."_ Jaune thought to himself as he stood up. He examined the man for a few seconds hoping to find a weakness. He had figure Qrow's left side would be his more vulnerable side because he was right handed and didn't use a shield. Obviously that assumption had been incorrect. _The attack must have been too telegraphed. I'll need to try something more unorthodox_. Jaune rushed Qrow once more. He brought his sword back as if he was going to swing but slid at the last second. He saw the giant sword swing over his head as he slid towards Qrows legs. He swung his sword at the man's feet.

 _Not bad._ Qrow thought as he jumped over the swing. He brought his sword straight down but was met by the kids shield. Jaune managed to redirect Qrow's sword out of the way, leaving his center wide open. Qrow saw the strike coming for his center and to someone looking on at the battle it might have looked like it would hit. Qrow pulled the trigger on his hilt, the force of the bullet pushed him just far enough to dodge the oncoming thrust. As soon as his first foot hit the ground he used the other foot to kick Jaune in the stomach. The kick sent Jaune rolling back a couple of feet but he was able to a stop himself and bring his shield up just in time to protect his face from a a spray of bullets.

 _Damn Qrow and his stupid sword that was also a gun._ Jaune though as he hid behind his shield. He knew he had to do something. _He's not going to waste all his bullets shooting at my shield. If he runs up at me in this position I'll be a setting duck._ He waited in-between shots had made a run for it. His shield took another couple of shots as he charged Qrow. He swung his sword at the man as he had done before and like before Qrow side stepped the strike and countered with his own swing. Jaune twisted his body counterclockwise and met Qrow's strike with his shield. He thrust his sword at Qrow's face. His attack's failure became apparent by both the smirk on Qrow's face and the knee in his stomach.

 _He should just about be in the red._ Qrow wanted to take a look at his scroll but the kid seemed to be determined to follow up on his failed attack. _Geez, hasn't the kid ever heard about catching a breath._ Qrow swing his sword at the kid and he blocked it with his shield. Qrow fully expected another strike at his face but noticed Jaune aiming at his outstretched arm. _He's trying to get the weapon out of my hand. Smart…but I don't need a weapon, kid._ Qrow let go of the weapon and the swing passed between his hand and the sword. Jaune's bodied followed through with the strike turning his back towards Qrow. To Qrow's surprise however, he was unprepared for the reverse roundhouse kick that followed.

 _This is may chance._ Jaune charged at his dazed opponent and swung his sword at his body. Qrow managed to catch the blade on his forearm. His aura protected him from any real damage but the attack must have hurt. He followed it up by ramming his shield into Qrows face. He prepared his sword for another swing, this time at Qrow's leg but was stopped dead in his tracks when Qrow's fist smashed into his nose. He didn't even see the kick coming as he fell to the ground. He heard Qrow picked up his sword and braced himself for a strike. Instead Qrow unloaded the rest of his clip on him.

 _Alright that should do it._ Qrow though at he finally had a chance to look at his scroll. _Argh, he still has 5%. And he's probably going to make me beat that 5% percent out of him._ Qrow looked at his own health bar and saw that it was at 94%. _I had better hurry up a finish this. It's already late._ He put the scroll back up and walked over to his opponent. "You ready to call it a night."

Jaune managed to get to his knees. He knew he never had much of a chance against someone like Qrow but he couldn't find it in himself to just stop. How could his friends rely on him if he just gave up whenever things became difficult? He propped himself up by using Crocea Mors as a cane. He swung the edge of his shield at Qrow.

"Of course, you're not." Qrow sighed, as he caught the sorry attempt at an attack. He slammed his sword into the ground, grabbed Jaune's head and rammed it in the pommel. He followed it up with a hard kick to the stomach that sent him flying to the end of the ring. "And that should just about do it." He said as he looked at his scroll once more. _0%, I just hope I don't have to carry him back to the inn._ He looked up at Jaune and saw him struggling to stand up. "You gona be okay?"

Jaune tried desperately to get his breathing under control. His body ached and his vision was beginning to become blurred. As he leaned on Crocea Mors he felt that any second, he would fall over. He had no clue why he was continuing at this point. He didn't even remember who he was fighting. As he looked up he saw the vague outline of a figure. He heard a muffled sound which he assumed was the figure trying to talk to him. He knew he wasn't an any real danger but he also couldn't control this unrelenting anger in the pit of his stomach. The fury in him just kept growing, demanding that he continue. He didn't know how that was possible. His aura was, without a doubt, gone and his adrenaline had stopped which immediately flooded his senses with all the pain he had accumulated over the last two hours. Then all of a sudden, the pain began to lesson as a warm sensation covered his body. The pain grew fainter and fainter until there was none at all. The last thing he remembered, before he passed out was a white light.

Qrow just stood there in silence as he saw the light consume the young man. As it covered all the cuts on bruises on his body it healed them until he looked as good as new. _Somethings not right, aura doesn't heal you that quickly and even if it did he doesn't have any left._ Qrow glanced back at the scroll and noticed that his aura was slowly growing. _That can't be right, it was at zero. This has to be some kind of semblance but Ruby said the kid didn't know what his semblance was._

Qrow looked back up at Jaune. In a blink of an eye he was gone. Reflexes brought Qrow's sword up just in time to block Jaune's strike. The blade came just inches away from his face and pushed against him with way more force than Qrow was expecting. He looked at Jaune and saw that the white aura remained on his body. What concerned Qrow the most was his eyes which had been completely engulfed in light. "You still in their kid."

The only reply he got was Jaune's shield slamming into his body. Qrow recovered quickly and swung his sword down at Jaune. Jaune's counter had more force than Qrow had anticipated and his sword was pushed back into the air leaving his body wide open. Jaune charged at him and swung right at his stomach. Qrow managed to dodge the strike by a few inches… at least he thought he had but a huge gust of energy followed behind the attack and sent him flying back. Qrow stuck his sword in the ground to stop himself from falling out of the ring. He had little time to rationalize what was going on as Jaune thrust his sword at him. Qrow was able to avoid the strike and punched Jaune right in the face, sending the young man flying to the other side of the ring. He ignored the immediate pain that flared in his fist.

Qrow looked down and saw a long cut had been made across his shirt. His aura had been able to protect him from whatever was accompanying Jaune's strike but his clothes had not been as lucky. _Okay I got to end this now._ He shifted his sword into its scythe form. He didn't wait for Jaune to stand all the way up as he ran at him swunging the inside of his scythe at him. He swung him up and slammed him back down into the ring floor. Jaune dodged the follow up attack and swung wildly. Qrow stepped back to avoid the attack and this time he was prepared for the accompanying force that followed the strike. He brought his arms up to protect his face and managed to weather the invisible attack with only a small dip to his aura. He didn't wait for a follow up attack and smashed the handle of scythe into Jaune's face and then swung the blade across Jaune's body. This time the blade cut through the white light that covered Jaune's body. As he hit the ground the sound of shattered glass filled the air. On instinct, he raised his scythe up to bring down another strike until he realized that was no longer necessary. The white light that surrounded Jaune had vanished. Qrow checked scroll again, just to be curtain. It showed him at 87% and Jaune at 0% again. His shoulders slumped in relief.

Qrow flipped Jaune over and saw the peaceful face of the unconscious teen. Not a single cut or bruise on it. Qrow sighed as he put his weapon on his back, placed the kid's sword back in its sheath, and finally picked him up and put him over his shoulder. Qrow began to think on Oscar's words. "Ozpin says that Mr. Arc has as an important linage." _Could he have been more vague?_ It was obvious now to Qrow that this kid had been hiding something other than his transcripts. "Where going to have a little chat in the morning kid."

 **So I did proof read this chapter but it's 7am and I'm just know about to got to bed soooooo cut me a little slack. I hinted at several things in this chapter like Jaune's ancestroy and his semblance, both of which will be important to the story. We've seen a glimpse of Jaune's semblance in Vol 1 but I assume theirs more to it. The semblance I have in mind might seem a little OP but it is going to come with some massive draw backs. The idea for the strikes having an invisible force behind them stems from the scene with Jaune training in the middle of the night. My first though was how is doing the same 3 moves over and over going to help him get any better until someone pointed out to me that it was demonstrating his aura control.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So this story isn't dead, sorry for the long wait. Finished half the chapter about 3 months ago but then school got in the way and well you know. So I finished the chapter last night so here it is.**

 **Chapter 5: The Hunt**

Neo navigated through the alley that was littered with the bodies of White Fang members. She gave each one a kick to see if they were still alive. _Dead….dead…..unconscious…..dead…..dead._ Killing people no longer bothered Neo in the least. You couldn't afford to have a conscience if you hoped to survive in her line of work. In this case, however, a little restraint might have been useful. Her intent was merely to mitigate the 'threat' they posed to her so that she could interrogate some of them. The task of keeping them alive while she neutralized them had proven more difficult than expected. She was an enforcer. Keeping your opponent alive was not something she had to concern herself with very often. Sure, she had been known to toy with her opponents from time to time but that required the opponent to be somewhat competent and none of the White Fang members that had been sent after her had their aura unlocked. Surely whoever sent these guys should have known they would be no match for her. They actually thought they were being inconspicuous. The thought was laughable. Chances were that if you could see her it was only because she was allowing it. It had been rather easy to lure them into a desolate alley on the outskirts of Mistral. From there she had little trouble taking them by surprise. Now she just needed to find one of them that could talk. Finally, she got a reaction from one of them after poking his neck with her umbrella. She used the umbrella to flip him over onto his back and placed her hill on his neck. From what she could tell he seemed to be some kind of bird faunus. An eagle or a falcon perhaps, it didn't really matter. She reached into her pocket and took out her scroll and began typing on it. She turned it around and showed it to the incapacitated faunus.

Who sent you?

"I'm not saying anything!" The faunus replied defiantly.

Neo rolled her eyes. Of course, he would have to be stubborn about this. It was probably foolish of her to expect him to make this easy on her. After all, if you had the conviction to join a terrorist group you probably believe you'd be willing to die for the cause. However, she had enough experience to know that it was one thing to make such a claim but another thing entirely to carry it out. She pressed a button on the handle of her umbrella and a knife came out the other end. She slid the flat part of the blade across his face then shook the scroll in front of his face to see if his answer had changed. The faunus gulped. It was clear that he was nervous but to her disappointment, he held to his conviction. She pushed her hill down harder on his throat and stuck her blade into the palm of his hand. He tried to scream but her hill prevented anything but the faintest of cries from coming out. Again, she waved the scroll in front his face and again she was met by silence. She would have to hand it to him, he seemed determined to take what he knew to the grave. Unfortunately for him, after working with Roman for so long, she knew how to make something like this last. He remained steadfast against another 5 stabs. However, on her seventh attempt, she cut into the wing appendage under his arms. That seemed to be too much for him to handle and he finally begged her to stop.

"Our sergeant told us to follow you. He gave us your picture and said you had been spotted in this area."

That was not the answer she was looking for. She wanted to know if this was done on Cider's orders or Adam's. But of course, some low-level grunt wouldn't know that.

Where is your sergeant? 

Hesitation crossed the faunus's face. It was clear that giving that kind of information away was something that was punished with a slow death. She rewarded his hesitation by twisting the knife into his wing.

Tell me where your cell is located and I promise the pain will stop

She watched as the faunus contemplated who he was more scared of. Her or his sergeant. Usually, the monster in front of you was more terrifying than a hypothetical one.

"Where located in an abandoned hotel on the south side of Mistral. It's called the Oracle."

A smile formed on her face at his confession. She gently pulled the knife out of his wing and with one clean stab, stuck it through his neck.

* * *

She spent the rest of the night scouting out her target. From the outside, it seemed to merely be and abandoned hotel. The White Fang members that would approach and enter through the back every now and then, proved that it was something more. She noticed that a large group entered around 3 and an equally large group exited the building 10 minutes later. It was obvious that was when they changed shifts. She figured that would be the best time to sneak in. In a large group, it would be easy to dismiss an unfamiliar face as a new recruit. Neo returned to her apartment as the sun was rising and slept most of the day. Around midnight she awoke to grab a quick bite. As she approached the south side of Mistral she transformed her appearance to that of a cat Faunus with black hair. She figured a cat faunus would be the least likely to stand out but at the same time make it obvious that she was a faunus. It was child's play for her to sneak into the back of the crowd and enter the building without anyone giving her a second thought. As all of entering members headed to a locker room to change into their uniforms, Neo detached from the group. As she walked through the empty hallway her clothes transformed into that of a White Fang member. She entered a massive room with dust and weapon crates nearly stacked to the ceiling. To avoid anyone asking her to do something, she picked up an empty crate and began walking as if she had already been assigned a task. It took about 10 minutes for the previous shift to leave the building. She quickly began to eliminate White Fang members one by one. Any member that strayed out of sight she quietly cut down with expert precision. She had just finished her tenth kill when she was finally caught.

"Hey what are you doing!" A faunus yelled out.

 _Well, I suppose they were going to catch on eventually._ A smile formed on her face as she pulled her blade out of her previous kill and turned to face the person who had spotted her. Now she would no longer need to worry about being quiet or careful.

"D-don't move!" He stuttered as he aimed his gun at her.

 _Really, this was the type of people that made up the White Fang. Beacon deserved to fall if these idiots managed to bring it to its knees._

"Stop…I'll shoot." He yelled as he tightened his finger around the trigger of his gun

True to his word he began firing at her but it was already too late. Neo ran under the clumsy spray of bullets and slashed through his throat. She cut down a score of White Fang grunts with minimal effort. The sergeant, however, put up more of a fight than she had expected. He was a wolf faunus who fought with a massive two-handed sword. Given the circumstances of his weapon, it should have been child's play to defeat the faunus. His weapon relied on slow powerful swings and was difficult to adjust mid attack. Both these traits made him incredibly vulnerable to her quick acrobatic strikes...or at least it should have but fighting the pathetic excuse for fighters she had been used to over the last couple of months breed complacency and she was caught off guard when the man's sword broke into two smaller swords. She had nearly been decapitated but was able to bring the fight back under her control.

For someone as skilled as he was Neo fully expected to pull out all the stops to get him to 'open up'. She worried he would take his secrets to the grave. So, when he began telling her what she wanted with her even needing to pierce his skin she was caught off guard.

"The lady Adam was working with asked him to find you. He told me to have a team track you for a while and eventually, we were going to gather a stronger team together to take you out."

Neo watched as the White Fang sergeant spoke. Though she had her blade on his throat he didn't seem scared. He looked at her angrily as he spoke the words. And where is Adam? She typed on her scroll.

"He's in a warehouse on the docks."

She cut his throat as soon as the words left his mouth.

* * *

The spent the rest of the night surveying the warehouse. The number of White Fang members that she saw going in and out of the warehouse made it easy to spot. The warehouse, however, was rather strange looking. All the windows had been sealed up. She assumed that it was to keep people from seeing what went on inside but she couldn't help but think it made the building look ten times more suspicious. _Might as well have a sign that says "nothing to see here" on top of that building._ There didn't seem to be a massive shift change at this location like there had been at the last. The meant it would be more difficult to sneak in undetected. Though with her skill it wouldn't be too much of a problem. She went back to her apartment to rest and prepared to assault the complex at night.

When the time came, she waited until she found someone who was clearly heading to the warehouse. She knocked them out and took on their appearance. She was surprised when she found that there was no one monitoring who entered the warehouse. She had never meant Adam but from what Emerald had told her she would have assumed someone like that would have been more cautious. The inside of this warehouse was about what she expected. There mountains of crates, which were most likely stolen Dust and weapons, piled to the ceiling. What she did find odd was the lack of light in the building, thought she supposed for people who could see in the dark it didn't really matter much to them. The narrow aisles made it rather easy for her to stay hidden. She quietly climbed to the tower of crates. She heard a group of faunus talking at the other end of the hallway so she went to investigate. As she had hoped she found the leader of the White Fang, Adam Taurus, looking over a map of Mistral and talking to his subordinates. She didn't think he looked all that tough but then again people would probably think the same about her to their detriment. There were 5 other White Fang members around the table, nothing she couldn't handle but she thought it would be wiser to even out the odds.

She was examining the layout of the building, trying to figure the best way to cause a diversion, when Adam's voice broke her train of thought.

"So, it looks like you came after all."

Neo didn't understand who he was addressing until it was too late. She felt and object wrap around her leg and throw her off the stack of crates. She landed on her back and just barely managed the roll out of the way for the incoming strike. A blade sliced into the ground she had been laying on, merely a second ago. She got to her feet as quickly as possible only to realize she was surrounded.

Adam walked out from the group to address her. "I will give you this one chance to stand down. Cider preferred we take you alive but if you cause I struggle I won't hesitate to end you."

Neo gave a smirk as her only reply. Like she was going to be handed over to that bitch. She would die first. She gripped the end of her umbrella and charged at the faunus closest to her.

* * *

Neo struggled to breathe as she assessed her situation. One on one she could take on nearly anyone, save for someone on Cinder's level but there was just too many of them for her to handle. She had gone through dozens of grunts, which Adam had thrown at her like cannon fodder. All just to wear her down. She had even managed to kill several of the more competent fighters. A tiger faunus who used twin katanas, and a bull faunus who wielded a massive hammer. All must have been sergeants in the White Fang and all of them now laid died on the floor along with the nameless grunts they commanded. But none of that mattered now. She was almost completely drained and had yet to land a single hit on Adam. The two remaining sergeants and that asshole with the chainsaw continued to guard him.

 _Okay, time to cut my loses._ She held her Umbrella out and activated her semblance then she merely ran towards the exit undetected. She heard a loud smash behind her several seconds later, no doubt one of the sergeants attacking an image that no longer existed. It dawned on her, once she had reached the exit, why the windows at the top had been sealed. This was a cage. And no illusion was going to get her out of it. The doors must have been locked as soon as the fight broke out and the metal on the windows would be impossible to get through without explosives.

She quickly ran back towards the aisles and hid between the crates of Dust and weapons. She slowed her breathing and managed to get her heart rate under control. Even without looking at her scroll she knew that her aura was near the red. She had 1 maybe two uses of her semblance left and that was it. If it was anyone of the sergeants by themselves, she felt could have taken them, but she didn't have enough left to deal with all of them combined.

 _So I'm completely surrounded, I have zero backup, and I'm horribly outnumbered. I suppose it could be worst, I could be bleeding out._ She thought as she was reminding of a deal that had gone bad for her and Roman.

* * *

The memory almost brought a smile to her face. Compared to the massive heists her and Roman had been doing for Cinder this one seemed rather low level, thought at the time she had just graduated from pickpocketing so she could hardly imagine such a big score. They had gotten their hands on half a million counterfeit lien. They were supposed to get a tenth of the face value for them but instead the buyers and decided to just kill them and keep both the real and counterfeit lien. Most of Roman's men had been killed, she had been shot in the throat, and the both of them had been pinned down behind a car. At the time she knew that Roman could have gotten out of there if he had left her to die but he didn't. He remained by her side. She was so certain that was going to be her final night on Remnant…but Roman had found a way. It was without a doubt the craziest idea she had ever heard of and one she knew she would never have thought of in a million years. He called the police.

After the 15 longest minutes of her life, the police had arrived and the ensuing gun fight had given her and Roman the chance they had needed to escape. She had lost the use of her voice that day but considered the trade well worth. She had formed her first real bond with someone. Her whole life people had used her for her abilities and then thrown her by the wayside when it was convenient. For the first time, someone had risked their life for her and asked nothing in return. Roman had never mentioned the ordeal, never lorded it over her, or made her feel like she owed him for what he had done. She loved him for that. And he deserved revenge for what Cinder had put him through.

* * *

 _Well if it worked once why not try it again._ She quickly took out her scroll. She went through the settings and turned off the program that prevented her location for being tracked. She then called the police, muted the microphone, and set the phone face down on top of a crate.

 _Now I just need to wait them out._

Almost as if the Univers was punishing her fo daring to hope, one of the faunus landed on top of the shelf she was hiding in.

 _Maybe he doesn't actually know I'm here._

"I know what your thinking. Your thinking that the darkness or even your semblance can hide you from us." The faunus on top of the shelve proclaimed.

"Put your wrong." Another faunus, who was rounding the corner, added.

"Some of us can hear your heart racing."

"Some of us can smell your stink"

"And some of us can EVEN SEE YOU!" The Monkey faunus yelled as he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her out into the open. The look on his face suggested that he believed he had ended it then and there. That was the last mistake he ever made as Neo stuck the blade of her Umbrella into his foot. He screamed out in pain as he released her. She pulled the blade out of the faunus' foot and into his open mouth. She had barely pulled the blade out in time to dodge the chainsaw that attempted to cut her in half.

"You just lost your chance to surrender!" The man screamed as he made to strike her.

Neo was able to dodge the heavy swing easily enough but she could feel herself getting slower. On the fifth swing, she sidestepped the swing fast enough but didn't see the kick coming and was knocked back against the wall. She quickly rolled out of the way of the following up strike and ran towards another aisle.

As she turned the corner she was met by a swing blade that she was barely able to duck under. The strike missed her but cut through the shelf behind her dropping dozens of Dust filled crates on both of them.

The other sergeant approached to find a pile of broken crates. He prepared his chainsaw to strike the second the small girl appeared from the mess. She emerged from the mountain of crate brandishing his comrade's weapon. He raised his chainsaw up and brought it down on the girl.

"Wait no." The girl cried out. As the chainsaw cut through her the illusion faded and the sergeant realized he had just killed his fellow White Fang member.

Just as he realized what he had done the tiny girl emerged from the crates brandishing a smug grin.

"You'll pay for that."

"Yes, she will," Adam added angrily.

As Neo turned her head to see the source of the voice a red blade cut into her leg. Neo let out a silent cry as the blade was violently yanked out of her. She fell to the ground and struggled to crawl away.

"What should we do with her boss? You said Cinder wanted her alive." The sergeant asked.

"Cinder will just have to settle for her head," Adam replied. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked as he saw Neo crawling to the wall.

Neo turned around and saw the two men staring at her. The faunus with the chainsaw wore a sadistic grin but Adam's face remained like stoic. It was clear that neither of them thought she was much of a threat anymore. A small smile formed on her face as she saw where they stood.

"What's so funny. You do realize you're in for a very long and very painful death." The Sergent said.

Neo pulled a lighter from her jacket. With the exception of Roman's cane, this was the last thing she had of his. She quickly lit it up and through it on the pile of crates. Adam was fast enough to realize what was happening but his comrade was not so lucky. A huge explosion engulfed him.

* * *

 _Ok, this is defiantly the worst situation I've ever been in. This beats out a hole in my throat by far._ She thought as she limped off towards the police cars that were coming. She used her umbrella as a cane as she struggled to stand. When the police arrived they instantly assumed the petite woman was no threat and escorted her into the police car while the other officers went to investigate the explosion.

"Hang on little lady, we'll get you to a hospital, just hang in there." The officer said in an attempt to comfort her. Which made what she did next seem all the worst.

When they reached their first red light she made her move. Her first instinct was to kill the man. It would have been safer that way. But since the universe had seen fit to let her make it out of that little trap with her life, she felt it was only right to pay the kindness forward. She knocked him out and thought him out on the side of the road.

 **So right off the bat, if anyone has an idea for a better title I'm opened to suggestions. I tried to come up with some kind of ice cream related title but couldn't think of anything. In an earlier chapter, I stated that I planned on making the story more action-centric. I realize now that wasn't really the right way to phrase that. I just meant the story wouldn't really be a romance story but it's still going to be very character driven. There will be a lot of fights in the story but as you can tell from this chapter I don't have a lot of experience writing fight scenes so they're not going to be incredibly detailed. You might have realized that when I just skipped over the beginning of her fight with Adam.**

 **So if you read a lot of RWBY fanfiction you may have realized I borrowed some elements from other stories. For the example blowing yourself up in order to get out of a situation where your outnumbered and outmatched, totally got that from Not this time, Fate by Coeur Al'Aran. It's probably my favorite story right now and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet. Also, the idea of a criminal calling the police is from Batman Begins. So I'm interested to know what yall thought about the story.**

 **So I'm interested to know what yall thought about the first Neo chapter. I haven't really decided what Neo and Roman's relationship was, only that she loved him. When I was writing the flashback scene I just saw the opportunity to cram in explanation for Neo being mute, so I took it. Originally I just assumed she was born like that but this worked well with the story. Do you'll like it or is it a bit too cliche? Last note, I never realized how annoying little details could be. For example, I wanted to say they got 10 cents on the dollar for the counterfeit but they don't use dollars they use Lien and I don't know what part of a single Lien is called.**


	6. Chapter 6

**So believe it or not I'm still working on this story. Originally school prevented me from working on the next chapter than when Vol 5 came out (which I have an abundant amount to complain about) I figured I just finish it before I worked on the new chapter. Problem with that was that a lot of the revels kind of messed up my plans for the next few chapters. On top of that, the idea I had for Jaune's semblance that I had already hinted at was pretty relevant to the plot. I thought about starting over but I eventually just decided that since Jaune's real semblance didn't seem that interesting to me I would just make the story the way I wanted. Usually, when writing fanfic I try to stay as close to canon as possible just so everyone has the same reference point in this situation I just couldn't do it. So again sorry for the long wait and thank you to everyone for the comments.**

 **Chapter 6: The Board Reset**

Weeks of stress melted away as Weiss allowed the hot water to wash over her body. She knew she would never take something like a hot shower for granted ever again. She had been savoring the small luxury for about 25 minutes when the banging on the door brought her back to reality.

"Hurry up Ice Queen, your going to use up all the hot water." Nora cried.

 _Well, I suppose that couldn't last._ Weiss thought as she turned the water off and changed into her combat skirt. She exited the bathroom and was met with an annoyed look from Nora.

"Sorry, it's been a while since I had a hot shower," Weiss said, only slightly regretful that she had probably used most of the hot water.

Nora ignored her apology and walked into the bathroom.

"You know I always figured her to be a morning person," Weiss said to Ruby.

"Yea. I was kind of surprised myself. But she's usually back to her normal self by breakfast."

"So what was your plan for today?"

"Well, Uncle Crow said that Professor Lionheart didn't have any leads for us on how Cinder and her team got into Haven. So he thinks we should all just head to any of the local places that sell illegal things."

While the idea made sense on the face of it Weiss felt skeptical at their chances.

"What?" Ruby asked in response to Weiss' expression.

"Ruby these people make their money by circumventing the law. There's a certain amount of discretion expected of them by their clientele. Do you think they're just going to give users whatever information we want because we ask?"

"Well, we could offer them money."

"What money? I'm completely out and you even told me yourself that you all would be broke by the end of the month."

"Well, we're just going to have to make them tell us," Ruby said, trying her best to sound intimidating.

Weiss sighed. While she knew her partner was more than a competent fighter she was also incredibly nieve. If she had to describe the way she looked the word adorable would come to mind. "Ruby I don't think you've thought this all the way through. I mean honestly how much do you know about the black market? And what are you honestly willing to do if these people refuse to tell you what you want to know?"

Ruby lowered her head.

Weiss began to feel bad for her blunt statement. She was about to try and comfort her friend but was interrupted by a knock on the door. She opened the door and was surprised to find Ren holding a paper bag in one hand and balancing 6 cups of coffee in the other hand. She quickly helped him with coffee as he came in.

"I brought coffee and scones."

"Wow, thanks, Ren, you're the best!" Ruby said as she jumped up in excitement.

Ren set the bag down and headed Ruby her cup. "Double cream with 2 pumps of caramel and 37 sugars. Weiss, I wasn't sure how you took your coffee so I just got it plain and brought some cream and sugar."

"Thank you," Weiss said as she happily grabbed the cup.

The three of them ate their breakfast together in an awkward silence.

"So Weiss, do you still plan on trying to find your sister?" Ren asked.

The question brought a somber expression to Weiss. "I want to but I have no idea where to start. All I learned from general Ironwood was that she was in Mistral. Until I know more I was planning on sticking with you guys…if that's all right with all of you?"

"Of course."

"Hey Ren, where's Jaune? He's usually the first one of us up."

"He's still sleeping. Crow told me he found him training rather late last night. I thought we should just let him sleep while we investigate the places your uncle told us about."

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave Jaune here by himself?" Ruby asked with a worry in her tone.

Weiss too seemed concerned with the idea.

"I think he'll be fine. I don't see any need to wake him just to go around asking for information."

The phrase reminded Weiss that she had to revisit her earlier question to Ruby. "Look I don't want to be the mood killer but I feel obligated to ask. Have any of you considered to what lengths you are willing to go if these people aren't as forthcoming as we would like?"

"Then we break their legs," Nora said in a manner far closer to what Weiss remembered.

* * *

"So I sent all four of you a list of the most well-known forgers in the city. There is also a list of 20 Huntsmen in Mistrial that I used to be in contact with. I need you to find out if any of them would be willing to help us retrieve the Spring Maiden."

"Spring Maiden?" Weiss asked.

Qrow then realized he hadn't let the heiress in on the secret about the relics and the maidens. He rubbed his temples. "Look I'll tell you about it later. For now, just ask them if they'd be willing to help me out. Split up into groups of two or stick together, doesn't really matter to me. Just go through as many as you can before nightfall. I don't want you all hanging around these places after dark."

"Uncle Qrow what happened to your shirt?" Ruby asked, pointing at the large tare across it.

"Some guy got a little too riled u at the bar last night." He replied dismissively.

"There's like 50 names on here!" Weiss yelled.

"Yep, so you better get started if you want to finish this week," Qrow replied as he took the flask out from his pocket.

"You're not going to help us?!"

"Hey, I got my own stuff to take care off."

Weiss looked at him skeptically.

"You're going to a bar, aren't you?" Ruby asked in a patronizing tone.

"I might stop by one at some point."

Ruby just rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll take care of it ourselves." She turned to the rest of her team. "I guess me and Weiss will take the first 10 names and you two can take the next 10."

"Alright! Last one to finish their list has to buy dinner." Nora challenged.

"You're on!" Ruby shot back as she grabbed Weiss by the hand and sped out of the inn.

* * *

Jaune was awoken from his sleep by the tapping on his head, by something incredibly hard. "Ow, what the hell!" He turned over to see Qrow holding Corcea Mors.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

Jaune grabbed the sword out of the man's hand. "Was that necessary? He asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Not really."

Jaune rubbed his eyes as he looked around the room. "Where's Ren?"

"He already left with the rest of your team."

"What, they went out without me?!" Jaune said, instantly overcoming his drowsiness. "Why didn't you wake me!?"

"They'll be fine. They're in groups of two. It's not like having a third person is going to make any kind of difference."

"Yea but they're still my team. I can't just lay around all day while they search for a lead."

"I think we have some more important stuff to discuss. And after carrying your unconscious body here I think I'm entitled to ask some questions"

Jaune sighed. "Like what?"

"Well for starters when did you activate your semblance?"

"I haven't," Jaune replied defensively.

"Wait, so you don't remember using your semblance last night?" Qrow asked, confused.

"What are you talking about. The last thing I remember was you slamming my head into the pommel of your sword."

Qrow gave him a strange look, deciding if he should recount to him the event of last night. He eventually came down to the conclusion that keeping it from him wouldn't serve any purpose, plus Ruby had told him that this kid always felt like the weak link in his team. Telling him of a potential semblance might boost his self-esteem."

"After smashed your head into my pommel I thought you'd be done for it. Your aura was at 0% and instead of staying down you got back up and ruined my shirt." Qrow said pointing to the cut across his shirt. "You were surprisingly difficult to put down. Your aura started to increase immediately, your strikes were more powerful, and you attacked me with wild abandonment. I've never seen anything like it."

Jaune opened his mouth to respond.

"I have" A voice interrupted.

Both Qrow and Jaune looked toward the door.

Jaune recognized the kid from several days ago. He was the one that Qrow had taken to see Lionheart.

"You know what the kid's semblance is?"

The boy walked over to Jaune's bed. "Yes. I've seen something quite similar to the semblance you described Mr. Arc having."

"Wait, wait wait, who is this kid?!" Jaune asked in a mix of anger and confusion. The boy spoke as if he was the oldest person in the room but he was younger than Jaune.

"O I guess I should explain that," Qrow said as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, the thing is…let see how do I explain this….

"I'm Ozpin."

Jaune gave the boy a strange look. "That's impossible. Ozpin's dead."

"In a manner of speaking. But it would be more accurate to say that my body was destroyed. The person you knew as Ozpin was merely one persona I've had in a life that stretches back between dozens of lives and several centuries."

Jaune just looked at the boy blankly. He couldn't deny that his eyes portrayed that of someone far older than a 14-year-old but to go as far to say he was Ozpin was just too crazy to believe. "You can't actually expect me to believe that."

"I understand it is a hard thing to believe. Qrow was skeptical at first as well. But surely this is something that could be tested. We had several conversations while you attended Beacon that only the two of us would know about. Ask me you to recall something that no one else could know about.

"What did I ask you about the day after initiation!" He replied instantly.

"You asked me to choose a new leader for your team. Which I refused."

Jaune's eyes widened. His first thought was to believe what he was telling him but the more cynical part of his mind held doubt. It was possible that Ozpin could have divulged their conversation to someone else.

"I can tell your not convinced."

"It's just kind of hard to believe."

"You seemed to accept the truth about the maidens easy enough," Qrow added.

"That was different. I saw the maiden's power first head. I saw Cinder take the power for herself. But this…you're basically asking me to believe your immortal."

"A curse, I assure you."

Jaune had a hard time believing immortality could be a curse.

"And I suppose I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"For the Fall of Beacon. I was careless and allowed a great evil befall us. And for my failures, others paid the price. I never wanted Miss Nikos to suffer for her choice."

Qrow knew as soon as the words left Oscar's lips that they were a mistake. He moved, almost on instinctively to stop the kid from strangling Oscar."

"Her choice! You asked her to shoulder a responsibility or put thousands of people in danger!" Jaune screamed as Qrow held him back."

Oscar's face remained calm but there was a noticeable amount of guilt. "Usually I would not have Qrow hold you back. You have a right to hate me for what I've done. But this body is not mine alone and for whatever you think of me Oscar does not deserve to have your anger taken out on him."

It took Jaune of few minutes to calm down. Eventually, Qrow loosened his grip and allowed Jaune to break out of his hold.

"Well…it looks like he believes you now." Qrow joked.

"So what, you taking over some kid's body?" Jaune asked.

"I assure you I have no control who I reincarnate with. It's been boys as young as Oscar and men as old as Qrow. But Oscar's mind still remains. He's merely allowing me to 'take the wheel' so that I might talk to you."

"Using Beacon students and children in order to fight a war against… this Salem. You ever think to ask yourself if you're even the good guy?"

"Every incarnation I ask myself that. But I, along with many of those whose soul I have merged with, have agreed with me that our actions have led to the betterment of Remnant and without the sacrifices, people have made world would have fallen into darkness Eons ago. I led man out of the age of tribes and bandits into the age of kingdoms, I helped bring about the end of the Great War, and when I finally do defeat Salem mankind will know a world without Grimm thanks to the sacrifices made by those like Pyrrha."

Qrow's body tensed as he prepared to stop the kid once more.

A flash of anger shot through Jaune's eyes but he made no move against Ozpin. After staring into the man's eyes for what seemed like an eternity he finally spoke. "Ruby will remain devoted to you and your cause. And I think the rest of them will follow her example."

"But not you? Is that what you're telling me Mr. Arc." Ozpin asked in an amused tone.

"I won't abandoned my team!" Jaune nearly yelled. "But I'm loyal to them not to you. They all have a right to know your plan. If they decide to stay then so will I. If they chose not to I'll be right behind them."

"Fair enough. But is keeping your team together with the only goal you have?" Ozpin asked, sadly. He saw it clear as day what the boy desired above all, revenge for his fallen partner. Past experience taught him that revenge could be a powerful motivator. It could give people determination and strength they didn't know they had. However, it could also corrupt them and send them into Salem's hands. While Ozpin knew the boys wish for revenge would keep him opposed to Salem he dreaded the idea someone as young as him would be overtaken by it.

Jaune ignored the question and got up to leave.

"Well…that was a thing. I say we get a drink." Qrow said as he followed Jaune out the door.

 **So I know after such a long break it seems like a let down to have such a short chapter but I finally had the motivation to finish the chapter. I'm curious to know what people think of Jaune's reaction to Ozpin. I remember in Vol 4 it seemed like everyone hated Jaune's attitude towards Qrow and I was completely in the other direction. I enjoy cynical and angry Jaune way more than goofy Jaune. Lastly not to give anyone false hope but I do hope to get another chapter out before the end of the week and I plan to finally have Jaune and Neo meet.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I actually got another chapter out within the same week. I have a test this week so the next chapter is going to for sure take longer to get out but I'm going to try and keep up with this story. I cycle between three different stories all of which I have the next chapter started. When I get stuck on one a move to the other ones but I try to prioritize the ones that haven't had an update for the longest time. Also, I didn't realize when I posted the last chapter but it's really been over a year since I started this fic. Kind of sad that I've only done like 20k words in that time. It's really crazy how some people can keep updates like Coeur Al'Aran or A Stereotypical Gamer. If I get one update a month I'm happy**

 **Chapter 7: An Old Acquaintance**

Qrow sighed as they walked through the rain-soaked streets of Mistral. His idea to go to a bar had been shot down by both the kid and Ozpin. The kid had been adamant about helping in whatever work the rest of his team was doing and Ozpin insisted they go with him.

They had already crossed off a dozen names on their list without any luck and Qrow had decided it was about time to call it a night. He even thought it would be a good idea to try and take the kid with him to the bar. Anything to prevent him from putting himself through one of those torture sessions again. "Hey, kid how about we call it a night. It gonna get dark soon."

"Fine, let's just try one more place. I know a guy around here who is highly regarded for forging documents."

Qrow gave him a weird look. "What you?" Qrow said, having a hard time believing that this kid would associate with anyone like the people who inhabited this part of the city.

"Is this the guy you got your transcripts from?" Oscar asked sheepishly.

Jaune instinctively gave the boy a dirty look until he realized it was no longer Ozpin who was asking the questions. He realized that this kid was merely a victim of this centuries-long conflict and didn't need Jaune's hatred added on top of that.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"Don't worry about it. Oscar right?" Jaune asked, trying to sound friendly.

"Yea, Oscar Pine."

"Jaune Arc," Jaune said as he offered his hand to shake. "Did Ozpin tell you how long he knew."

"From the start, I believe. He didn't seem real eager to tell me about it but I've started looking through some of his memories. I remember him telling some lady named Glynda not to worry about the… inconsistency with your skills and your transcripts." Oscar said nervously

Jaune remained silent. It didn't make sense to Jaune why Ozpin would allow him to stay even if he knew he was fraud, not to mention make him the leader of team JNPR. And while he was happy to acknowledge he wasn't nearly as pathetic as he was when he first started at Beacon, it was clear that he was by far the weakest member of his team. Jaune was taken out of his thought as they reached their destination.

"Kid this is a restaurant," Qrow said before taking a drink from his flask.

"What? Did you expect them to have a sign that said get your fake transcript here?"

"Smart ass," Qrow replied as he followed the two kids in.

"Jaune, how did you learn about this place," Oscar asked.

"My sister got involved with some…less reputable people when he moved out on her own. She told me about it and I snuck off here last time my dad brought me and the family to Mistral."

They moved through the main part of the restaurant and towards a hallway in the back. They were stopped by a large Bull faunus in a suit. "What's your business?" The faunus asked as he blocked their path.

"We just need some information from Felix," Jaune replied.

"Fine, but you have to check your weapons in with me."

Jaune took Corcea Mors out of its scabbard and placed it on a table. The faunus than patted him down before letting him pass. He did the same with Oscar and Qrow before the three men were allowed to enter the room.

Inside the office was a large wooden desk where a skinny man in a suit sat flanked by two far larger bodyguards.

"I don't know if you remember me but-

"Jaune!' The man said in recognition. "Don't look so surprised. I never forget a face. I'm glad to see that managed to make it out alive from Beacon."

"Really? I wouldn't think someone in your line of work would care all that much what happens to a Huntsmen academy." Qrow interjected.

The man gave a short laugh in reply. "Most people think that but my business requires a certain amount of stability which the academies provided. Now it seems like everyday theirs some report about a Grimm hoard breaking through our defensive perimeter. The Mistral guard is already stretched thin and it seems like half the registered huntsmen just up and vanished. But enough about my Kingdom's problems. I assume the three of you came here for something."

"The people who were responsible for the Fall of Beacon all came from Heaven. We're trying to find out where they got their credentials" Qrow said as he pulled up a picture of Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Neo.

"Well, I don't mind telling you, free of charge, that I didn't sell any fake credentials to these four."

"Well is there anything valuable you can tell us?" Jaune asked.

"That depends," Felix said as he rubbed his fingers together.

Both Oscar and Jaune looked at Qrow. Qrow merely sighed before pulling out some Lien from his pocket and throwing it on the desk. "I've got 1000 Lein if your information is good."

Felix smiled before taking the money off his desk. "Rumor has it that the fake credentials weren't in fact fake."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"That the credentials these four got came from Heaven Academy officially."

"So that means they have someone working for them within Heaven," Jaune replied.

"I suppose that does give us a new lead," Qrows said merely thinking out loud.

"Anything else you can tell us?" Jaune asked.

"I can tell you that there has been some infighting among these four."

"How do you know that?" Oscar asked.

"The White Fang, who we know was working with these four to attack Beacon, put out a bounty on this one." He said pointing to the girl with black pigtails.

"Well, it's not like we can just ask them where she is."

"You have anything else for us to go on," Jaunes asked once more.

"Other than telling you where to get in contact with some members of the White Fang, I'm afraid not," Felix replied.

Qrow and Jaune both sighed before turning to leave.

"Ozpin says he's lying," Oscar said defiantly.

Qrow immediately stopped. "You wouldn't be holding out on us?"

The bodyguards immediately stepped forward to oppose any aggression. Felix sighed. "Look, I can appreciate what the three of you are trying to do. And while I wish you luck in it I still run a business. A business that depends on the confidentiality of its clients."

"You do realize that if we don't stop them Heaven might share the same fate as Beacon."

"I'm aware, however, that doesn't change my position."

"Well, that's not good enough in this situation," Qrow replied.

"I'm going to have to ask you three to leave now."

"Ahhhh!" Jaune yelled as he transformed his scabbard into its shield form and rammed it into the guard right in front of him.

Both Qrow and Oscar were shocked to see that it was Jaune that made the first move of aggression but neither of them wasted the opportunity. Qrow quickly subdued the other bodyguard while Ozpin again took control of Oscar's body and prevented Felix from grabbing the weapon under his desk.

Qrow made short work of his adversary and then moved to help Jaune with his. They then turned to the door to stop two more of Felix's guards. For bodyguards, these people might have been decent muscle but they were nowhere near a challenge for even a moderate Huntsman.

* * *

"Felix I really don't want to hurt you but we need to know where these people are," Jaune said as he held Corcea Mors to the man's throat.

"Hahaha. Look kid A for effort but you're not fooling anyone. You're the same goody-goody idealist who came to me a year ago trying to prove himself to his father. You have been fed a steady stream of bullshit your whole life about how Huntsmen are a force against evil made to protect the weak and innocent. Your practically a character from a comic. You don't have it in you to hurt an unarmed man let alone torture me. So why don't you-AWWWWWW" Felix's lecture was cut short by a blood curtailing scream.

Jaune twisted his sword into Felix's thigh. He was about to yank the blade out and try and stick it in the other thigh but was pulled away by the collar.

"What the hell was that kid," Qrow yelled as he slammed Jaune into the wall.

"We need answers and I'm not going to let another one of my teammates die because of honor or morals."

"Its that kind of thinking that puts you on the same path as Cinder. Is that what your partner would have wanted, for you to turn into someone like that?"

The simple mention of his partner washed away his anger and replaced it with shame. His sword fell from his hand as he was forced to look away from Qrow.

"I must agree with Qrow, especially since it's completely unnecessary," Ozpin said as he approached Felix and looked him straight in the eye. "While I'm sure I do not look as intimidating as ether Mister Arc or Mister Branwen, I assure you I'm far more dangerous than either.

Felix's first instinct was to laugh at the kid but there was something wrong with his eyes. They were the eyes of a much older man and the longer he stared at them the more pain and suffering he saw behind them. He was wrong, this wasn't a boy or a man this was some sort of monster. His attention was finally brought away from the monster's eyes by the green aura that emanated from its body. It filled the room and threaded to suffocate him.

"Alright! I'll tell you what you want to know!"

* * *

Neo whined as she took the wrapping off her leg to change the bandaging. After three days she was finally able to walk on her leg but it caused an extreme amount of pain. Even with her aura speeding up the healing process she was nowhere near ready for another fight. Her agility and acrobatics, which made her as dangerous as she was, where now gone. On top of that because of the painkillers she was taking she could hardly stand straight up. She figured it would be another two weeks before she would be well enough to go back out and look for any leads on Cinder. The only good news she had was that word had gotten out that an 'assassin' had killed Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus had taken over in her stead. Ironically Adam had claimed it was Neo herself that had slain Sienna Khan. Neo supposed it made a certain amount of sense. The White Fang knew she was in the city and they knew she had already attacked several White Fang bases. Surprisingly a small number of members of the White Fang had been smart enough to see through the lie and taken up arms against Adam. Even as militant as the White Fang had become, there where a few who realized that Adam's direction would take their organization down a path that would lead to oblivion. Neo knew this faction would be dealt with quickly and quite brutally by Adam but until it was the infighting would keep her safe.

The waiting around is what really drove her mad. She knew the more she rested the faster her recovery would go but her personality did not go well with doing nothing. She did some light stretching with her upper body, to keep flexible, as she watched tv. It was on the news but she quickly lost interest thinking of the events that had to lead her here.

She had met back up at her and Roman's safehouse after Beacon had fallen. She had waited 3 days until it finally dawned on her that Roman wasn't coming back. She had done all the foolish things desperate people who refuse to accept reality do. She had gone back to the last place she had seen him. Or at least to the wreckage of the airship they had taken over. When she found no sign of him she snuck into the prison in Vale to see if he had been captured. When it was clear he wasn't there either she began tracking down some of his hold contacts in some foolish hope that he had gone to them first and not to her. She checked their old hangouts, safehouses but nothing. When she finally ran out of hope that he was alive her mind instantly went to revenge. Red had been her first target but she was not among the students trying to reestablish control of Beacon from the Grimm. The school itself was completely destroyed so she didn't have any hope of finding where she lived from her school records. She had momentarily redirected her hatred. After all, cinder had been the one to force Roman into this job. It was her plan that put Roman in the position that led to his death. A fortunately for her she knew right where to start with tracking her down. Adam was one of the closest links she had to Cinder so she had taken the first ship to Mistral that she could sneak aboard.

In retrospect, Adam might not have been the best person to go after. While she was hunting him he had been looking for her. No doubt as a thank you present to Cinder. One on one she was confident she could handle Adam but she couldn't deal with him and an army of White Fang grunts. She pulled her self out of the thought, realizing there was no point in thinking about what she could have done differently. She got up and headed toward the fridge. As she pulled the Ice Cream out of the freezer she heard a loud click coming from the front of her hotel room. She dropped the tub of ice cream and placed her hands over her ears.

* * *

The three men walked silently through the streets of Mistral as they headed toward the other side of town. Felix had revealed that one of the fake Haven students had come to him 3 days ago, half dead, needing medical attention. Felix had one of his doctors see to her and then one of his men had driven her to a hotel on the nicer side of town. He assumed this girl would have changed locations by now but it was the only lead they had.

The man at the front desk had not been nearly as principled as Felix. It only took 50 lien from Qrow for the guy to admit there was a young lady matching their description who purchased a suite 3 month ago, paid 6 month in advance, and he hadn't seen her since. They took the room number and headed up the stairs.

"You think we should knock?" Oscar asked.

"Why? The guy sold us the key." Jaune said as he unlocked the door and began opening it. When it passed the halfway mark the three of them heard a loud click. Before Jaune or Oscar had any idea what was going on Qrow had pulled Oscar out of the way and used his own body to protect him from the blast that came soon after. Fire engulfed his back but his aura protected him and Oscar from any harm. When the blast subsided Qrow turned to check on the kid. He was already getting back up ready to charge into the room. Qrow moved passed him and saw what looked like the person they were searching for only with a different hairstyle. _Better to detain her first and see if it the right person laster. Besides anyone that places a bomb on their front door can't be all that innocent._ Qrow thought as he rushed in to strike her with his sword. She shattered into a thousand pieces when his sword made contact. Before he knew what was going on he felt a bowling smash into his face. He turned and found the same girl coming at him with a knife. The stab was sloppy and weak. He easily disarmed her and kicked her against the wall. When she didn't move he walked over to her to see if she was still continuous.

"Qrow she's going for the window," Ozpin yelled.

Qrow looked towards the window and saw nothing. He looked back at the girl and touched her head. Again the illusion shattered like glass. He looked towards the window and sure enough, there was the girl trying to open it. He fired off a round from his sword that sent her flying back into the wall slamming her head into a class picture frame.

Qrow walked over to the body to make sure it was really her. He was relieved when this time she did not shatter into glass.

"Ouch," Qrow said, as he realized the shot had finished off the little aura she had and now her face was covered in glass. It was clear that she was not at full strength. She had fresh badges on her leg signifying she was still recovering from a rather serious injury.

"Really? Sympathy. You do realize I got blown up because of the grenade she placed on her door, right?" Jaune complained.

"Stop whining. With your aura levels, I think you'll be fine." Qrow laughed. Unfortunately, he was to busy giving Jaune a hard time that he didn't notice the girl grab the hilt of his sword and fire a round off into his foot. The distraction gave her the chance to move past Qrow and Ozpin. She ran for the now absent door. Neo thought she might have a chance as she passed by the boy but was knocked out cold as a flat object smashed against the side of her head knocking her into a wall yet again.

"Still feel bad for her?" Jaune asked as he retracted his shield back into its sheath form.

"Less so now," Qrow replied as he rubbed the top of his foot.

* * *

RING…RING…RING

"Hey, it's Jaune," Ruby said to the rest of the group as she answered her scroll.

"Hey, Ruby are you guys with Ren and Nora?"

"Yea, we were just about to find a place to eat. Are you and uncle Qrow going to meet up with us?"

"No, we kind of found a lead. Anyways when you're done with dinner get all of our stuff from the hotel and meet us at the Highland Estates. We thought it would be good if we rented a house since some more people are going to be staying with us."

"Jaune we don't really have enough money to afford that."

Jaune gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it I think we'll be fine."

 **So some of you might have been able to notice where my mind was going before Vol 5 came out. Based on the World of Remnant video talking about how Mistral had a significant black market I kind of thought that Jaune's forged transcripts would come into play. I also thought that Jaune's lineage would as well but It seemed like I was wrong about both.**

 **Anyways if you have any questions leave a comment or PM me and I'll get back to you sometime next week.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So I haven't replied to comment in the last few chapters so I was going to go through those.**

 **Guest: I'm glad you're okay with the direction I plan on taking the story. Most Jaune/Neo pairings have them falling in love relatively quickly and while that might happen in this story as well it will take some time.**

 **EnriksD8: Yea a lot of this is laziness. After finally getting enough motivation to finish the chapter I'm really bad about rereading the chapter and looking for mistakes.**

 **icemaxprime:thanks**

 **: Thanks and I'm trying to focus more on my spelling and grammar.**

 **Guest: I think you make a good point. It might be unrealistic that neo made it out and the other guy died. But Neo coming off as alive but severely weaken was kind of relevant to the next few chapters.**

 **natsuviKurosaki: WOW WOW WOW Jon is basically like Robb only without any charisma or the ability to win battles. But thanks for the compliment. I agree there aren't enough Jaune Neo stories. I will recommend one, however. Bring the Sunshine by A stereotypical Gamer is great. it's kinda a Harem but it manages to no seem like pure male fantasy. If you haven't read it check it out.**

 **Pyancakery: Yea I wanted to make their force meeting a violent one instead of an emotional one like some stories do.**

 **The 10th Wand: See I've been a little confused. Based on the other uses of Neo semblance I've always assumed it was the ability to create illusions. But I now realize a lot of people think its the ability to teleport. If that was the cause it would be like she had two distinctly different and very powerful semblances.**

 **Svette117: Thanks, I appreciate that.**

 **Toaneo07: Thanks**

 **Engineer1869: Thanks**

 **EiNyx: haha Ozluminati I like it. Yea I thought they kind of backtracked with Jaune's character growth in Vol 5. He just blindly accepted Ozpin's lead again, they ignored the whole subplot with his training to Pyrrha's video, and the only time we see his inner turmoil is with his fight with Cinder.**

 **icemaxprime: I'm not sure. The Oscar/Ruby pairing is one of the only Ruby pairings I actually like but I don't want to distract from the main story but I might hint at it. As far as Neo sowing doubt into Oz what did you mean? Like him losing faith in the cause or the others losing faith in him.**

 **Guest: Thank you. That was the goal. I wanted to show that losing Pyrrha has deeply changed Jaune. And this change is the only way the Neo and Jaune pairing is going to work.**

 **Sevette117-Thanks. That was what I was trying to portray for without going too far overboard.**

 **Guest-Thanks but I wouldn't get your hope up.**

 **The Deserter Angel- I don't know if I'd go as far as too say he's trying to maintain the status quo. I think that when you're as old as him you see everything in the big picture and look at lives as pieces in a game of chess. I believe Ozpin is truly determined to defeat Salem but he's willing to lose a battle to win the war. He'll sacrifice an entire generation of hero's as long as it keeps Salem from an all out victory. But Oscars story is kind of tragic but I suppose it's been like that for everyone who he reincarnated in.**

 **Engineer1869-I think Ozpin, being immortal, views life as just less scared as everyone else does. I think over all he's the good guy just willing to go to extremes to accomplish the greater good.**

 **X3runner-I didn't really think of that similarity when I wrote it but I guess that's true. Yea it's hard to find a balance and if I'm being honest I would say he's more an edge lord than a little toy soldier but again I try not to make it too over the top**

 **Guest-Yea I like Jaune's character but I can see why other's wouldn't. He the characteristic underdog hero and that can seem kind of annoying. I personally didn't Jaune saving Weiss because I was hoping his semblance would be something a little cooler but honestly I can't believe anyone out there actually thought Weiss was going to die.**

 **Also, I forgot to explain in the last chapter but Ozpins powers are still kind of vague. You might of notice that in the last chapter Ozpin was able to do things like telling when people were lying and see through Neo's illusion. I kind of just assumed those might be skills that come with being hundreds of years old.**

 **Chapter 8: A Potential Ally**

The information that had gotten from Felix had panned out far better than he had even dared to hope. Apparently, the woman had been too injured or just too arrogant to bother finding a new place to stay. She had clearly been wounded from a previous fight and was weakened enough that Jaune probably could have taken her on himself. After they had knocked her out they had looked through her hotel room to find anything of value and they had not been disappointed. From what Jaune could tell the woman had been gathering information on Cider and the White Fang, for what reason he had no idea but he wasn't going to complain, and he knew the information she did have might be useful to Jaune and his team. On top of that here room was filled with explosives, high-quality dust, and nearly 50,000 lien in a briefcase. He supposed being a criminal came with certain perks. They had decided since Weiss was now staying with them and they would now have a prisoner it would be wise to rent a larger place to stay. And since money was no longer a problem why not go all out.

"You find anything useful in her notes, kid?" Qrow asked.

"Kind of. It seems like she believed Adam Taurus was in contact with Cinder."

"So you're saying that's where we should start?"

"Well, that's going to be a problem. Apparently, he assumed control of the White Fang yesterday when an 'assassin' killed Sienna Khan. I don't think we have anywhere near the strength to go after him." Jaune replied

"We're getting ahead of ourselves. The first thing we should do is see what this young lady has to say when she wakes up. Ozpin interjected.

"Yea that might be a problem. It seems Cinder isn't her only target." Jaune said as he pulled out a picture of Ruby.

"What does she want with Ruby?"

"No idea. But from all the pictures its clear that sh-

"Jauneyyyyy were home!" Nora shouted as she barged through the door.

The three men turned to find the rest of their team coming through the door.

"What's she doing here?" Weiss and Ruby asked in shock.

"I'll stay and guard her is the two of you want to fill them in in the next room," Jaune said to Qrow and Ozpin.

"Sounds good. Be careful. She may seem sweet but she's definitely more dangerous than she appears."

"Yea."

"O and don't drop your guard just cause she gives you a wink and a smile." Qrow laughed.

Jaune just scowled at the man

* * *

"So you're telling us that your Ozpin and that you're immortal," Weiss asked in disbelief. "I know it's a lot to take in. Mister Arc had a hard time accepting it as well. But if there's any conversation you recall that only Ozpin would remember simply ask me about it.

"Why did you Qrow and Jaune go out on a lead without us?" Nora yelled, ignoring the part of this kid having the reincarnated soul of a thousand-year-old wizard completely.

"What? That's your question?" Qrow couldn't help but reply.

"Look if you say this kid has Ozpins soul then I'll take you at your word. It no harder to believe then that the story of you trying to give magical powers to Pyrrha. But I want to know why my leader didn't go with us and don't tell me he overslept." She said angrily.

"Look you're going to have to talk to the kid about that. That's his personal business to tell. Unless you have any question about the Relics, Ozpin, or that girl…Neo was it…I think we're done.

* * *

Jaune sat in silence as the girl in front of him finally regained consciousness.

She shook her head and she tried to regain her bearing on where she was. She remembered the grenade she had placed on her door going off. She remembered portending to be knocked out as she gained an opportunity to get away, and then she remembered something smashing the side of her head being knocked out for real.

"So your finally awake?"

Neo looked towards the source of the voice and saw a tall blonde boy who she vaguely remembered fighting in the Vytal festival. He was on the team with Pyrrha Nikos id she recalled correctly.

"Hey!" Jaune said snapping his finger to gain her attention, taking Neo back to the present situation. "Why are you after Ruby?"

"Hey!" Jaune said snapping his finger to gain her attention, taking Neo back to the present situation. "Why are you after Ruby?"

Neo attempted to move her hands to signal that she couldn't speak until she realized she her hands where tied. _Of course, they had tied her hands. What kind of fool would have just left me free to move?_

"I'm waiting," Jaune added in an annoyed tone.

Neo opened her mouth, again trying to get the idea across that she couldn't speak.

"You're kidding me. You can't talk?" Jaune said rubbing his forehead.

 _Well, at least he's not an_ _idiot._ Neo thought. She smiled and nodded her head to explain that he was correct. She then struggled to move her hands and then pointed her nose to the scroll that lay on the table behind him.

"What you think I'm going to untie you? Ruby told me that you defeated Yang on your own. I'm not an idiot. You're far too dangerous to be left unrestrained.

Neo frowned.

"You just have to wait until the rest of my team is here with me."

Neo resigned herself to the situation. After a few minutes watching him look through her notes, she realized she was quite hungry. Their little raid at interrupted her dinner and she had skipped lunch because she was knocked out from the painkillers. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

She stopped her feet on the ground to the boy's attention. When he looked in her direction she opened her mouthed and closed her mouth.

"What? I already told you, you're going to have to wait to write your message down. I'm not untying you."

Neo pouted in silence. She was hungry and she wanted something now. She concentrated and an image of a bowl of ice cream appeared on the table.

"Wow what the hell!" Jaune shouted as he stood up from his chair. The illusion suddenly shattered when he moved."

"So what, you want something to eat?"

Neo smiled and shook her head once more.

"Fine, but after you answer my question? Why are you after Ruby?"

Neo rolled her eyes. Again she used her semblance and summoned an image of Roman. The image was sliced in half by an illusion of the young scythe wielder.

"So you blame Ruby for his death?"

This time Neo just glared at the boy. The anger in her eyes portraying the message that he was correct.

The boy stood up and walked over to the kitchen. He was only gone for a second quickly returning with a candy bar. "I'll get you something more substantial after they're done talking." He said as he unwrapped the candy bar and placed it in front of Neo's face. She eagerly consumed the candy bar. When she got to the final bit of the candy bar she put her mouth around his figures and slowly removed it. It only took a second for him to yank them out of her mouth but when she looked up at her face she was pleased to see that a light plush had formed that he failed to hide. His embarrassment, however, soon turned to anger as he turned to sit back down at the table. He continued to look up from her notes and every time she did she gave him a sly smile. He would then grow annoyed and return to her notes.

* * *

"So, how's the prisoner?" Qrow asked as he and the rest of his team walked into the room.

"Fine," Jaune replied flatly.

The deathly glare the women gave Ruby did not go unnoticed by Jaune.

"So I guess we start the interrogation now," Qrow said as he walked over close to Jaune. "Try to keep it under control this time." He said in a low voice so that the rest of his team wouldn't here.

Jaune looked away at the mention of his earlier action. The memory had brought about a horrible sense of shame.

"So, she say anything to you?" Ren asked.

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean?" Weiss asked.

"She's dumb."

"Jaune, I know she's a bad guy but that's still not very nice."

"No, you dolt! He means she can't speak."

"O that makes more sense."

"If we want to interrogate her I'll have to cut her restraints and let her write her responses down," Jaune replied.

"Fine, do it."

Before Jaune moved to release the prisoner he moved in closer to Qrow. "I don't think Ruby should be in here while you question her. This woman has a vendetta against Ruby."

"Your five can get go out and get dinner. Me and Oz will stay behind and question her."

"Sounds good to me!" Nora exclaimed as they all walked out of the room.

* * *

"So what sounds good to you all. I'm thinking pizza." Jaune asked the group. His question was met with silence. "Is something wrong?"

"You bet there is," Nora said as she moved in inches from Jaune's face. "You mind telling us why Qrow told us this morning you couldn't go out with us to search for leads because you spent all night training and then we get a call from you 8 hours later telling us that you found a lead on your own."

"Look it wasn't my plan to oversleep. I would have been happy if you all woke me up." He replied nervously.

"That's not the point. You told us you were buying groceries. Why didn't you tell us you where training?"

"Look I saw a gym on the way to the grocery store and got a little carried away." He lied. "If I knew it would worry you this much I would have sent you a message."

Nora seemed to relent at his explanation if a bit reluctantly. "Make sure you do," Nora said with empty anger.

Ruby, however, did not feel content with the explanation but she kept what she knew about Jaune's training habits to herself. She didn't think it right to bring it up in front of everyone else. She mentally reminded herself to bring it up as soon as she got herself alone with Jaune.

"How was it that you, Qrow, and Ozpin where the ones to find Neo? The four of us followed up at least a dozen leads and came up empty-handed." Weiss questioned in a less accusatory manner.

"I guess we just got lucky." He lied once again. "I wanted to join up with you all but Qrow that we would cover more ground if we went out on our own and it turned he was right."

The questioning finally stopped but Jaune noticed a certain skepticism in Ren and Ruby's eyes.

* * *

The returned to the house several hours later in good spirits. "I'll see if Oscar and Qrow want some of the leftovers if you all want to head to bed," Jaune said as he took the Pizza box into the kitchen.

"Sound's good to me," Nora replied. The rest of the team soon followed suit.

Jaune was heading towards the room holding Neo but was stopped when Oscar and Qrow came out of the door. "You guys get anything from her?"

"A little bit. Seems she's nearly as mad at Cinder as she is with Ruby. Apparently, Cinder was strong-arming Roman into working with her and because of that, she wants revenge on her as well. She tried tracking her down through the White Fang and that's how she got injured. They ambushed her on one of her raids."

"That's it?" Jaune asked, disappointed at the news.

"Unfortunately. But we'll try again tomorrow. In the meantime, you should get some rest." Ozpin added.

"Tomorrow? If you didn't get any information from her shouldn't we hand her over to the authorities? Keeping her under the same roof as Ruby is dangerous."

"Easy kid. She's restrained and she's still pretty weak from her fight with the White Fang. Right now most of her aura is going towards healing her leg so she shouldn't be a serious threat to anyone in this house."

"Isn't that what the Atlis Military thought about Roman before he took over their flagship?"

"Look Jimmy made some mistakes in regards to Roman. But we'll be more careful with Neo."

"And we shouldn't rule out the possibility of her helping us deal with our common enemy. Her skills could be quite useful in our fight against Salem. And if she believes that she can get her revenge against Cinder by helping us she might be willing to join us…temporarily at least."

"Helping us? Have you lost your mind?!" Jaune yelled as threw the Pizza box on the floor and grabbed Ozpin by the collar. "This isn't a damn game of chess. Your desire to defeat Salem is putting Ruby's life at risk."

"Kid, let go of Oscar," Qrow said rather comely.

Jaune once again remembered he was not merely threatening Ozpin and released Oscar from his grip. "Look even if she could be useful to us it's not worth the risk. We'd have to watch our back at all hours of the day."

Qrow looked at Ozpin to see if they should let Jaune in on another important factor. When Ozpin gave a subtle nod Qrow spoke. "There's another problem with giving her over to the authorities. Oz and I have grown suspicious of Leo recently. First, he dispersed the huntsmen to all corners of Mistral, against Ozpins direct orders, and now we've learned from Ruby and her friends that several of the huntsmen I asked them to track down and ask for help are MIA. That just shouldn't happen on not when we know Cinder is going to make a play for the Relic in Mistral. If Leo really has changed sides then giving Neo up might just put her in Salem's hands. She either kills her or unleashes her on Ruby neither of those are particularly good options."

Jaune was forced to relent on the point. "Fine but we should at least have someone guarding her then."

"Good idea. You take the first shift. Wake me up in four hours." Qrow said as he picked the Pizza box off the floor and heading to the living room.

Jaune didn't really enjoy being ordered around but he reluctantly accepted his role. He found Neo asleep on a couch. Her hands tied in front of her instead of behind so that she could sleep in some relative comfort. The four hours went by relatively quickly as he was given the time to just sit there with his thoughts in silence. He began to think on Ozpin's willingness to put his goals above Ruby's safety. The more he thought about the angrier he became until he was almost shaking. He was about to start flipping up tables when Qrow finally relieved him to take the next watch.

"About time." He said rudely before walking out. His first instinct was to go to a room and get some sleep but he had gotten himself so enraged that he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Instead, he went out the back door with the intent of going through his training routine and was shocked to find Ruby sitting out on the porch asleep. He walked over to her and woke her up. "Ruby, what are you doing out here?"

It took Ruby a moment to regain herself but as soon as she did her silver eyes became deathly serious. "I was waiting for you."

"Why where you waiting for me out here?"

"Because I know you go out at night to train."

Jaune was at a loss for words.

"I saw you watching that video of Pyrrha one night." She replied shyly.

"Look Ruby…is just…that video…

"Jaune it's not healthy. You can't hold on to all that misery. You need to move past this."

"I can't!" He shouted, finally losing his temper with Ruby."

"Jaune I know how you feel but-

"No, you don't. It wasn't your fault that she died! You weren't the person who let their partner down!"

Ruby was taken back by the outburst. She was completely unaware that her friend had been holding on to so much guilt over what happened to Pyrrha. As she contemplated what to say Jaune tried to move past her. On instinct, she rushed in front of him.

"Ruby move!" He said as tried to push his friends out of the way.

Ruby resisted and managed to once again stand between her friend and the forest.

He raised his hand to strike her, for merely a second, but that's all it took for him to realize what his rage had almost caused him to do. As he looked into those innocent silver eyes a wave of guilt washed over him. He was about to hurt the person who had given him a purpose, other than anger, to keep going on. He was going to hit his first friend at Beacon simply to hide from his pain and guilt. He lowered his arm, a sense of calm finally overtaking him.

Ruby was noticeably at ease as seeing that she had finally gotten through to her friend. "Jaune I'm here…we're all here for you. If you need to talk about what happened to Pyrrha-

"No." He said quietly but in a forceful tone. "I'm just not ready for that."

"Why?" Ruby couldn't help but ask. "You can't blame yourself for what happened."

Jaune sighed. "Ruby, this is just something you just can't understand."

It was Ruby's turn to snap. "Pyrrha was my friend too! I tried to save her, but I couldn't. Just like I couldn't save Penny or the hundreds of other who died when Beacon fell…but I haven't blamed myself for all those deaths and neither should you."

"Ruby, it's not the same."

"Why?!" She replied, defiantly.

"Because you weren't a liability to her!" He said, again unable to maintain his calm. "Because she didn't shove you into a locker because you were too weak to be useful."

"Jaune, she did that to protect you, she-

"That's the point Ruby. I was her partner. She shouldn't have needed to protect me. I should have been able to fight with her. Just like you, or Weiss, or any of you all would have been able to do."

Ruby struggle to find a way to reply. After several seconds of silence that seemed like an eternity to her Jaune placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby I'm grateful, I truly I'm. Had it not been for you giving me something to fight for I would have given up long ago. Now I have a goal again…but that doesn't change the way I feel. This isn't something I can get over it's something I have to live with. I promise you it won't interfere with our mission but I need you to let me handle in my own way."

Ruby lowered her head and resigned herself to her failure.

Jaune lowered his hand and walked passed Ruby, leaving her alone on the porch.

After several moments alone Ruby fell to her knees as tears ran down the side of her face. She hadn't been able to ease her friend's pain and she couldn't think of anything else to do.

 **So I'm not going to lie I pretty proud of myself for getting another chapter out the same week. Probably going to try to update my other story so the next chapter won't be out in the next week but I want to shoot for some time in April. Just to go over some of my thought with this chapter. So in most Neo/Jaune fics, jaune is usually the one to convince the rest of the team to give Neo a chance. While I don't think there anything wrong with that direction (I think it works well with his original personality) it's also an easy way to explain why she's on the team. However, with the direction, I've taken his character and since Jaune isn't physically strong enough to protect his teammate I would assume he would try to protect them in other ways, namely not keeping a known enemy under the same roof as the person she want's to kill. Originally I was going have Jaune suggest that they kill her to ensure she doesn't harm Ruby but then I realized he's not at the point where he's willing to commit cold-blooded murder...yet. Also I want to bring up the scene with Neo trying to tease Jaune. I went back and fourth with it because it did seem a little cliche'but I needed a way to develop her character a little more. The idea of using her semblance to communicate instead of typing on a scroll came from another fanfic called Priorities by Random O' Panda. I felt that having her just type on her scroll would seem boring but also I felt Jaune wouldn't want to untie someone strong enough defeat Yang, who is probably the strongest member of team RWBY is you subtract Ruby's silver eye powers. If I'm completely honest I think I have a habit of over thinking some things that's why I feel the need to over explain some of the ways they kept watch. Like if you read my Game of Thrones fic you might have noticed how even though my battles have few details but there are always specific numbers for the size of the armies. And I also go into detail into the reason certain action are taken. So if it seems tedious I'm sorry in advance.**


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